Panzer aber Alternativ (Tanks but Alternative)
by TheSimplyM
Summary: A new policy has been passed in Senshadou Japan recently, the "Modernization Policy", which it is a series of rules and regulations that would standardized the sport of Senshadou to match the global stage and demand, this includes the allowment for male participation to the sport. Follow Eirian Haiiro as he exploits the motives of a former Commander from Kuromorimine Girls Academy.
1. Chapter 1 - Eirian Haiiro

Chapter 01: "Eirian Haiiro"

_Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, on top of a School Carrier was a young boy in dark uniform as he looks through the window on the hallway, gazing on the town in the distance as buildings and houses flooded the area while nature still flourish as every corner in the town has at least two or more trees and bushes that scattered the large town. Immediately he heard a voice that caught his attention._

"_Haupsturmfuehrer_ (Captain) Eirian Haiiro, Sir?" _The voice called out his name in the open, turning his back as he confronted the voice that called his name out_. _His dark eyes and brown hair confronted a young man with the same uniform as him; a black wool hip-length double breasted jacked and trousers, with a German Eagle insignia on his collar patch. The young man was very nervous as he tried to avoid eye contact from him. _

"The _Fuehrer_ (Leader) wanted to see you now…" _The young boy said to him nervously as he keeps avoiding eye contact from Eirian. In return Eirian nodded at the young boy as he followed him through a small room. _

_Inside a room was an office designated for a superior officer as both Eirian and the young boy entered the quiet room. Bookshelves stood on each side of the wall with a small desk stationed at the center along with three chairs. One chair was occupied behind the desk as he gestured Eirian to sit. _

_The young boy vanished as he was dismissed by the person behind the desk, leaving Eirian alone in the room. _

_A young man covered in black uniform silently sat on his comfy black office chair in the room, he has black messy hair, dark-red eyes, and the height of an average teenager as he flashed Eirian a warm smile of welcome. _

"Captain of the 1st _Vorhut Sensha-dou Geschwander,_ Eirian Haiiro…" _He said to Eirian as he was comfortably in his black office seat, arms crossed centered to his chest, facing forward directly at him. _

"Something you need Rommel?" _He immediately asks to him as he finally sat on a chair while his stoic look remains. _

"Definitely, so please feel cozy because this might be long, my friend" _He replied with the same smile on his face. _

"Okay"

_Rommel took out a piece of brown envelope underneath his desk and gave to Eirian as he slides it on the desk, Eirian took the envelope as Rommel said something to him as he tries to open the envelope. _

"I received an information from a certain person in Japan, notably a person that is direct in the JSF. He or She said that the youngest heir of the famous Panzer-Ace Family just vanished, disappeared, out of trace, out of radar, MIA." _Rommel explained to Eirian as he finally opens the small envelope, revealing a picture and a piece of a document. _

_His eyebrows raised as he was utterly confused, looking at the picture as he was puzzled. _"Who is this girl?" _He immediately asks as he saw a picture of a girl, Auburn hair and light brown eyes, wearing a uniform that is foreign to Eirian as he was still confused. _

"She is Miho Nishizumi, the youngest heir of the Nishizumi Family, one of the most famous families in the sport of _Sensha-dou _in Japan" _He answered his question as he laid his back on his chair, letting the mood uplift a bit as Eirian showed his emotionless stoic look again. _

"Is there a reason for me to know this information, Rommel?" _He continued to ask as he looks to her profile, according to the profile he was holding, it tackles about Miho and her past career as a Panzer-Ace Kommandant in Kuromorimine Girls Academy. _

"Certainly"

"Care to tell me why?"

"You do know about the **Bet **right?"

"It's the bet that would standardized everything via the '**Modernization Policy**' in _Panzerkraft_, in order to do that we, the _Japanese beeinflusste die Duestsche Akademie _or JIGA must, and have to defeat the representative of the Japanese Sensha-dou Federation" _He replied as he summarized the word Rommel mentioned. _

_"_Indeed, you already heard the disputes between the_ GPSF _and_ JSF _right?_" Rommel asks at him again which Eirian answered it shortly. _

_"_Yes, the disputes are all about the tradition of Sensha-do completely changing under this new environment, like _Sensha-dou_ is only for girls and such the addition of new rules and regulation about the matches itself_" Eirian answered. _

_"_Indeed, this policy the **'Modernization Policy**' aims to encourage the male community to join and participate _Sensha-dou_, thus creating a Co-ed type of sport, but since there are problems we're currently facing we couldn't enact the effect throughout Japan"_ Rommel explained before he takes a sigh._

"And what do you know… their representative is none other than _Kuromorimine Girls Academy _itself" _He added. _

"Okay, so what's the problem of one Kommadant being MIA?"

"You see, there is a certain possibility that this young Miho Nishizumi would sabotage a team that will be participating the 63rd Sensha-dou National High-School Tournament this year, and we can't allow that to happen" _He finally explained the problem to Eirian while Eirian raised his eyebrow to Rommel as he was now invested and interested from all of these information he was receiving from the Fuerher. _

"And these means what exactly?" _He then asks to Rommel. _

"You will be sent off to _Zuikaku_, a small _Gakuenkan_¸ there you will be enrolling to Oarai Girls Academy, or should I say Oarai Academy to be precise" _He briefs Eirian's supposed mission as he showed him another picture of Miho, aboarding into a small Carrier called Zuikaku somewhere in Japan mainland. _

Your mission? Found Miho Nishizumi there, get those evidences and exploit her motives and give to us, if that happens it would make things easier in getting this **Bet** into our favors" _He added as he briefs his mission to Eirian as he slowly stood up._

"Why me of all people around JIGA, you picked the person that has no social capabilities of approaching a person like Miho" _He asks as he remained his stoic look to him, hiding his emotions like a robot or a dead person that walks around the face of earth. _

"You have an interesting way to learn things immediately, so be sure not to fail… I won't tolerate any failure after all" _He casually said to him while giving him a wide smile on his face._

"I see…. In that case, I would like to leave now, if you excuse I'll be preparing for this mission you so called" _He bows to Rommel before turning his back, and walks away from the room, leaving Rommel in the room as he shuts the wooden door quietly. _

"Well, these might get interesting…" _Rommel casually said to himself, like a monologue as he chuckled in his seat, before turning his chair around, allowing him to gaze upon a row of stationed armored vehicles in the field, the dunkelgrau _(Dark Grey) _fatigues covered the vehicles as they stood their metals and rusts on the open field._

* * *

**So... yeah, it's a new start again you guys, please leave a review and always enjoy my story and content that's all byeee :) **

**-Panzer vor!- **


	2. Chapter 2 - The VSG

Chapter 2: "The Vorhut Sensha-dou Geschwader"

_It was after the day that Eirian receives his mission from Rommel, the Fuehrer of Japanese beeinflusste Deutsche Akademie or The Japanese Influenced Germania Academy, also known as JIGA. _

_Eirian silently watched the outside world through the window from his seat as he boarded a Junkers Ju 52, a German trimotor aircraft transporter as it flies in the sky alone, under the bright sun and the mountain of clouds as it made its way towards their destination, Oarai's Gakuenkan (School Carrier) that is called Zuikaku, a small and light School carrier, the name was based from the Imperial Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier "Zuikaku" of World War II. _

_Eirian stared at the blue ocean below him as he got nothing to do for the time being, all he can see was the vastness of the blue ocean sea with the clouds in background, making the view like a painting from an artist. _

_Eirian sat quietly, and doing nothing as he was the only passenger that boarded the plane as the plane was from JIGA and not a typical airliner. Looking around the interior of the plane he was boarding he slowly shuts his eye as he heard an intercom from the pilot of the plane. _

"Our destination is approximately 2 hours from now on, please remain to your seats and watch the view outside this plane, Genießen(Enjoy)"_ The pilot said to them/to him as he announced their ETA or estimated time of arrival to Zuikaku. _

"2 hours…" _Eirian mumbled to himself as he tries to shut his eyes, before he falls completely asleep during the trip. _

**Flashback two-years ago **

_Eirian was standing on a flat plain, wearing his black Panzer-Kommadant uniform along with a black side cap, he, along with Rommel and a few others stand in one straight line as they confronted and faced a batch of Commanders from the other side, wearing their American Tanker uniform as they faced the German team._

_It was silent, but full of tension on the atmosphere as each side stared the other with intimidation on their eyes, like they were ready to have brawl for any second right now before someone broke the tension. _

"May we have a fair fight" _Rommel broke tension as he walks forward, giving them a bow. _

"Indeed, and thank you for your acceptance to our request, Herr Miamoto" _The leader of the other side said as he approached Rommel, giving him a bow also, as it was a sign of respect._

"It's nothing special or anything, we just wanted to show these recruits the ropes of under pressure in combat" _He gestured the participants behind them, including Eirian as he was also in the line, still showing his stoic look._

"Recruits? Don't make me laugh Miamoto, you're the leader of the **VSG**" _The leader replied._

"Indeed, if we go full out to you guys, we already won the match for today" _He flashed him a wide grin, as he mocks the Leader from the other side due to his facial expression._

"Confidence my friend, you're so full of full of confidence…" _The Leader replied after he sighed, walking away from him as he went to his subordinates in which Rommel did the same. _

"Listen up rookies, we're going against Yankee High Sensha-dou team, as a way to exercise you all so I expect you all to do your best!" _Rommel said to his subordinates as he went back and regrouped the team. _

"We shall give them the meaning of the strength of the _Vorhut Sensha-dou Geschwader_¸ so everyone! manned your stations! we are rolling out" _Rommel added as he ordered them to went into their stations, with the nod he receives from them, they went to their stations. _

_After 15 minutes has passed, the rumbling sound of the threads halt the silence in the area as the exercise between the VSG and Yankee High has started. Eirian closed his cupola as the engine behind him started to roar and later the sound of threads consumed the place as it moves in one direction along with the others. _

_His station was a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E often shortened as the Tiger, a German heavy tank, and one of the famous tanks during WW2 due to its reputation in the field, wielding the mighty 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun and boasting heavy armor as it rolls on one of the most fearsome tanks during WW2. _

_His dunkelgrau Tiger 1 started to move, its engine screams as the other tanks started to move as well, all of them have the same color scheme, the Dunkelgrau, the only difference was their tanks, some were using a medium tank, some were using light tanks, and the other one was using a tank destroyer in the match. _

"This is Rommel, always stick to the plan and use all the information and training you guys have" _Rommel said to the radio to everyone in his team, including Eirian as he heard his voice through his laryngophone, also known as throat mic. _

"We're facing a couple of M4 Shermans, with the 76mm cannon armament, some M24s, and M6s" _Rommel added as he informed them about the strength of the enemy, while looking to his map as he soon gave them the task. _

"_Zug V_ (_**Zug **_\- Platoon of 3 tanks)will continue doing recon missions on each ridgelines of the mountains at point G and I, while _Zug III _and _Zug IV_ will take the left flank, _Zug I _and _Zug II _will take the right flank" _Rommel then ordered as his Tiger 1 started to move towards the left flank along with 2 Tiger 1's as well. _

_Eirian's platoon was Zug I: containing 1 Panzer VI Tiger 1, and 2 Panthers. Zug II's platoon consists of: 1 Tiger 2, 1 Panther, and 1 Jagdpanther. Zug III which is commanded by Rommel consists of: 1 Tiger 1, and 2 Panthers. Zug IV consists of: 2 Tiger 2s, and 2 Panthers. Lastly Zug V consist of light tanks such as the VK 1602 Leopard, a prototype and experimental tank. _

"Hear you loud and clear" _The Platoon Leader of Zug II radioed Rommel back as his platoon accompanied Eirian's platoon as they made their way towards the right flank, just behind the large mountain and into the green plains. _

_Eirian sat on his commander's seat in silence, tapping his shoe on the metal floor, arms were crossed as he patiently waits the tank to reach its destination, eventually opening the cupola as he wanted to get a better view from the outside world. _

_He opened it and immediately felt the wind that caught his face, swaying his brown hair as he observes the outside world, gazing at the distance as he used his binoculars, seeing nothing other than trees, some abandoned houses, and ruins as both Zugs slowly traverse into point F that is marked red from their maps. _

"Strange… we haven't seen any Americans yet" _The Loader of Eirian's crew said to his Commander as he opened his cupola as well, as he felt the breeze that swayed on his red hair._

"Indeed, this is a bit suspicious…." _Eirian replied to him as he lowered his binoculars before entering the tank again as he closed the cupola as he radioed another Tank Kommandant. _

"This is Eirian, how's the recon status over?" _He said through his throat mic as he pressed it. _

"We haven't seen anything yet" _The radio replied to him as his Leopard took a stop as its turns off its engine. _

"Report to us if you found something" _Eirian then said to him. _

"_Jawohl Herr _Wittmann!"

_The channel ended as Eirian dropped his hand as he continues to observe his surroundings again by doing a heads-up position._ (It is a position where a person puts his/her head outside the turret)

_After a long eon of silence of dead transmission and both Flanks are now secured as point F and point D is been fully secured by the VSG, the Americans are starting to make their move as Chaffees with their 75mm Gun made their way towards the ridgeline, facing the stationed VK Leopards. _

_Without noticing it, the Commander of one VK Leopard was surprised to see a Chaffee in few meters away from his position as a shell hurls through the sky, almost hitting his tank. _

"How did a Chaffee get it there?!" _The Commander was utterly surprised to see a light tank infront of him, over few hundred miles as it slowly rains him with shells as it approaches him slowly but surely as it gains its foothold on the ridgeline. _

"Firing!" _He said as he pulled the trigger letting out a scream of its small 5cm Kw.K 39 L/60 as it lunched its small shell towards the Chaffee, it immediately bounces as it hits the slope front of the Chaffee. _

"This is VK-1A, an enemy Chaffee is engaging us!" _The radio speaks in Rommel's throat mic as he heard the transmission as he sat on top of his tank, overlooking the mountains in the distance as he saw few tanks rolling up. _

"I want you to retreat immediately and regrouped to Zug III and Zug III now" _Rommel replied in casual tone as he radioed back Zug V as he pressed his throat mic. _

"_Jawohl!" They replied as the Light tanks slowly retreated into safe distance as both Chaffees in each ridgeline took their positions, while two M4A2s and 1 Jumbo Sherman soon followed them and gain the ridgeline for themselves. Meanwhile Zug I and II slowly moves toward another location as they saw a couple of M4s barricading themselves in the ridgeline. _

"2 M4A2s, 1 Jumbo, and 1 Chaffee are occupying at point F" _Eirian reported to everyone notably to Rommel as they slowly moved into a better position, into the ruins as their cannons locked towards the M4s in the mountains. _

"Same here" _Rommel replied as they saw the same thing at their side. _

"Any suggestion at where the remaining tanks are?" _The Platoon-Leader of Zug II asks to them via his throat mic as he entered the transmission. _

"Probably hiding in the forest, or in the town that is center in the map, typical Americans…" _Rommel replied as he looks through his map, encircling two circles in the map as he circled the current position of both American platoons they saw earlier. _

"Should we wait; they may have the advantage Kommadant?" _The Loader of Eirian's crew asks to him as they simply watch the American platoon sitting idly in the ridgeline as they spread out into a thin line as they faced their frontal armor towards at them._

"Distance are around 1800-2500 meters" _The Gunner declared to him as he used his sights to determine the approximate location of the enemy platoon. _

"We can attack them very easily with our 8.8cm armament" _He added as he looks directly to his Captain of the tank, giving him a look that he can hit them with ease. _

"I don't doubt the skills of our crew, but I'm most worried about their countermeasure, it is strange to see that they covered the ridgeline without any M6s…" _Eirian replied as he wonders about the few tanks they saw in the ridgeline, as they only saw 5 tanks with additional 5 more in Rommel's report he wondered about the remaining 5 heavies. _

"Kommadant Fuehrer, should we engage in combat?" _The leader of Zug II asks to Rommel as he opened the transmission. _

"I think we should engage them now, Fuehrer" _The leader of Zug IV then added as he joined the transmission. _

"Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act" _Rommel replied as he dropped a note for them to understand more about life._

"But didn't you said don't strike for what is strong, but strike for what is weak?" _The leader of Zug IV reacted as he replied again through the channel. _

"This is lately a trap" _Eirian suggested as he observed the enemy via the binocoulars as he was doing a heads-up position._

"So we just wait?" _The loader asks. _

"Yes, we wait… "_ The Gunner then replied as he leaned on his seat, looking at him directly before checking the sights again as he observed the enemy also._

_The Vanguard Sensha-dou Geschwender waited in the bushes, and took shelter under the abandoned ruins as they observed the Olive drab tanks in the distance as they remained in one station, like what Eirian said the Americans took out their heavies and finally entered the sights of Eirian's binoculars as he and his platoon saw 2 M6A2E1 and 1 Pershing tank in the distance, taking some cover also as they locked their guns towards the location of Eirian and eventually they broke the silence as they started to fire their guns towards Zug I, II, and V. _

"Enemy is now engaging us! Return fire!" _Eirian closed his cupola as he ordered his crew immediately, taking heavy fire from the Americans, they returned fire as they fired their guns directly at them. _

_The battle has started as the VSG and the Americans exchanged shots at both point F and D. _

_Eirian's Tiger lets out a roar from its mighty Kwk 38 as it fired through the bushes, hurling through the air before bouncing off upon landing on the frontal armor of the Pershing. _

"Ricochet!" _The Gunner said as he was still engaged to his sights. _

"Load up another round!" _Eirian ordered as he managed the crew while maintaining an eye to his platoon by looking through the Commander's vision ports in every occasion he have. _

"Jawohl!" _The loader picks up a 7.3 kg Pzgr 40. shell and loaded into the gun breach with ease, he pushes it inside the breach and closes the hatch of the breach before shouting back at him. _"Gun's up!"

"Can you engaged at one of those Shermans in the ridgeline?"

"Didn't you said you didn't doubt our skills?" _The gunner gives him a grin as he aimed the barel towards one of the enemy Shermans in the ridgeline as they were providing cover to the heavies in the ground. _

"Aim ready!"

"Fire!"

_The mightly gun started to roar again as it recoils the tank, letting the casing of the shell to fall down towards the metal floor as a shell hurled through the sky with great speed, landing immediately upon the M4A2 Sherman in just a few seconds, hitting the frontal armor as it exploded upon impact, causing the Sherman to halt its operation as it started to smoke and eventually a white flag popped out from its hull, marking it inoperable. _

"Nice one!" _The leader of Zug V shouted as he praised the effort of Eirian's crew. _

"Oh no you don't" _The American team leader said as he was in his Pershing, aiming the 90mm gun towards one of the Panthers as they took cover in one of the abandoned houses but it can be easily penetrated._

"You're dead" _He added as he gave them a smirk, giving them the signal to fire as they fired their 90mm gun towards the Panther of the VSG, hitting the frontal armor as its engine stops to halt, smoke started to appear as a white flag emit under the cover of the smoke. _

"One Panther is dead!" _The Radio operator said immediately to Eirian as he heard a transmission from them. _

_Slowly the Heavies started to make their move as they started to roar their engines again, echoing in the place while Zug I, II, and V took out 2 M4A2s and 1 Jumbo during the firefight. _

"I'm engaging one of them!" _The leader of Zug II said as he moves his Tiger II towards the front, taking the point as he faced the approaching American heavies. _

"Don't be stupid!" _Eirian replied immediately as a shell from the enemy destroyed another Panther, deeming it inoperable as he was caught surprised. _

"We don't have the time to complain! Just leave already!" _He shouted back as he fired a round towards a M6A2E1, reaching a hit as it hits the turret ring, causing it to slow first before a white flag starts to appear. _

"My Zug will handle them, just go now!" _He added as a Jagdpanther started to roll up towards his side as it fires its 8.8cm Kwk 43 cannon towards one of the Heavies as it bounces off immediately upon landing the side cheeks of the M6. _

"Fine, just don't disappoint me" _Eirian replied to him as his Tiger 1 started to move, along with his 1 Panther ally, and 1 VK. Leopard as they went towards point H, the starting location of the American team. _

_Zug II made their stand as they fought against the heavies of the Americans, immediately after Eirian and his platoon made into safe distance the Jagdpanther was shot near the gun mantlet, causing it to explode and emits dust and smoke as it deemed inoperable. _

"Come and get me!" _The Leader of the Zug II shouted in the air as he was doing a heads up, slowly the Tiger 2 of his started the move directly towards the remaining heavies, making the fight a close-combat as it reaches around 1000-800 meters away from each other. _

"Getting cocky there, such arrogance won't save you" _The captain of the remaining M6A2E1 said as it halts its movement, aiming the 105mm gun towards the front of the Tiger 2 as it lets out a shot towards the approaching Tiger II. _

"No you don't, turn to Lunch angle! Now!" _He immediately ordered as the M6 fired its shell towards at them. _

_Its hull started to shift from straight into a 45-degree angle, ricocheting a shell from the M6 as it halts for a second, letting the gunner to aim towards the weak spot of the M6A2E1 before firing towards it letting a Kwk 43 cannon to shout again for the last time as it fired a shell towards the cheeks of M6 which the shell landed directly towards its target as it started to smoke in the turret right, before deeming it inoperable as the rumbling sound of its engine died off. _

_The remaining heavy tank, the Pershing took the opportunity and fired directly at the Tiger II infront of him, hitting it on the sides as the engine compartment exploded, fire started to appear as well as dark smoke, deeming the Tiger II of Zug II inoperable as the turret as still locked towards the broken down M6A2E1. _

"We're out…." _He said as he sat on his seat, letting the remaning tanks to know that they're out of the game as he only smiles at it. _

_Meanwhile Eirian's remaining platoon went towards point H as they wanted to regroup with Rommel's Zug. _

"This is Eirian, can anyone hear me?" _He asks through the channel as he opened the channel via pressing his throat mic. _

_No one replied as Eirian opened again his cupola, he saw a forest nearby and decided to go there while trying to made contact with Rommel's Zug. _

"No one is replying…" _The loader was becoming worried as they didn't hear a word from the others nor the sound of shells exchanging in the distance, only smoke appeared as it hovers in the sky in the distance as a visible sign of an intense fighting. _

"We can do reconnaissance Herr Wittmann" _The leader of the Zug V said to Eirian via the transmission. _

"Sure, but watch your surroundings" _Eirian gave them the permission as the VK Leopard slowly departs away from them, going into another path as they leave the Tiger 1 alone in the Forest. _

_Meanwhile in point D-G Rommel's Tiger 1 stood among the broken hulls, broken threads and dead tanks as his tank survived after the long confrontation against the Americans in the area, 7 was taken out while 7 of his were taken out also. _

"Oh, it's one of ours" _Rommel said to himself as he saw a light tank in the distance approaching them. _

_The Leopard was about to reach Rommel until a shell caught on the engine compartment of the Leopard, causing it to explode with sheer violence, slowing its threads down before a white flag pops out from the hull of it. _

_Rommel's Tiger 1 immediately engaged towards the origin of the enemy's shell, looking up again in the ridgeline as they saw the remaining Chaffee as it fired another shot towards at him, but the shell only ricochets upon landing on the Gun mantlet of his Tiger._

"Fire" _Rommel ordered in calm tone as they fired a round towards the Chaffee, eventually hitting the light tank as they saw smoke in the ridgeline, and a white piece of flag as the Chaffee was deemed inoperable. _

"That was fast…" _Rommel said to himself and to his crew as he felt something was wrong, and that he was right as in the distance he heard a shot coming from the north east called his attention as he immediately entered the turret. _

"Breakfast angle now!"_ He immediately ordered to his driver, causing the driver to stir up his steering wheel as it angled its tank in a 10:30 but sadly they didn't reach a complete turn as the shell hits the side of its armor, causing the remaining Tiger 1 to fall down along with its subordinates as a white flag emits from its side hulls. _

_Rommel was on the floor and in a very uncomfortable spot as he pressed his throat mic gently. _"This is the Fuehrer speaking…. we were sadly taken out, sorry Eirian but you're the one who is going to finish this fight"

"What happened over there?" _Eirian asks as they made their way towards the urban place in the match, a small town that is like a ghost town. _

"The Leopard is taken out by the Chaffee, in return we take them out but sadly that Pershing took me and my crew in surprise and that's why I'm here, in the floor in a very uncomfortable position" _He chuckled as he slowly exited the tank, seeing the already burning Chaffee in the ridgeline as its crew started to extinguish the fire. _

"I see… You did your duty there, Sir" _Eirian replied to him as they entered the vicinity of the Town, seeing the Pershing in the distance. _

"I'm about to face him now, see you later Miamoto…" _Eirian lowered his hand as he looks at the Pershing infront of him, they were on a long street, just houses and no other routes as it was a place that looks like in those Old western places where two people started to duel it out. _

"Load the Pzgr 40 now, we're taking them out now" _Eirian ordered his crew one more time as he remained in his heads-up position. _

_The loader loaded the shell on the Gun breach, announcing to Eirian that everything is now prepared and ready to go, with the total silence occurred in the street it finally drops after the Pershing started to move forward, facing the Tiger 1 in a close combat. _

"Fire!" _Eirian ordered to his crew as his Tiger fired a round of Pzgr 40 towards the Pershing which the Pershing avoids it in few inches as it approaches the Tiger 1 in a fast pace. _

"Hit the threads! We're going through the houses!" _Eirian immediately said to the Driver as its engine started to roar again and the threads were rolling out, going into the houses as it avoids the shell from the Pershing that came crashing towards one building behind Eirian's tiger. _

"Shell loaded!"

"Fire!"

_Another round was unleashed as both tanks engaged in a chase in the streets, it was either they avoided the shots or bounces it as it has no clear winners in this close combat match, and thus they went towards an open space, a plaza, around 500 meters from one another as they again locked each other, reloading their last shot as both of their engines started to roar again, echoing in the plaza._

"Shell is loaded Eirian" _The Loader said to him as he loaded the Gun breach._

"This is our last shot, our last chance of winning, don't let them win, no, matter, what" _Eirian declared to them as his engine started to roar loudly, trembling in noise as the threads started to move as well with Pershing. _

_Both of them aimed their armaments against each other as they were getting real close, the Pershing was the first one to fire and the Tiger 1 fallowed next, one shell exploded the other as they bypassed one another, they stop upon bypassing the other as smoke started to appear at the Pershing, and slowly its engine died out with a white flag popped out from the front hull as the shell of Eirian landed on the Turret's ring of the Pershing meanwhile in Eirian's tank, the shell ricocheted the last minute as Eirian moved the tank a little to the left. _

_Eirian emerged from the tank and approached the burning Pershing where he saw the American team captain in one shape, though with bruises around his body he was perfectly fine. _

"That was a great match, you really impressed me there" _The American leader said to Eirian as he offers him a hand shake, his face was covered his sweat and smoke as he smiled cheerfully towards the young Black Panzer-Kommadant. _

"Likewise, it was interesting to fight against you" _Eirian replied as they accepted the offer, both of them shake hands as it represents sportsmanship as both of them admired the other's prowess._

"I didn't get your name though?" _The American asks to him in which Eirian simply nods his head at him before answering his question. _

"Eirian Wittmann-Haiiro, part of the Vanguard Sensha-dou Geschwender"

**Back into reality **

_Eirian slowly wakes up upon the voices of the Pilot called his attention, waking up from his slumber as he saw a ship in the distance. _

"This is your Pilot speaking, few minutes from now we are about to land in Oarai's Schoolcarrier, the _**Zuikaku**_"_ He said through the intercom as Eirian leaned towards the window, seeing a Schoolcarrier in the middle of the ocean, that school was none other than Oarai's Schoolcarrier, the __**Zuikaku**_, _Eirian's new place to live and study as there he will find the person he was sent to investigate and that girl was Miho Nishizumi, former Kommandant of Kuromorimine Girls Academy._

* * *

**Hello everyone! It's me again The_M, please enjoy my story and also give a review if you guys wanted to show your opinions and thoughts and always remember, Panzer Vor means Panzer Vor!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Oarai Academy

Chapter 3: "Ooarai Academy"

_Beep, beep, beep. The digital clock said on the darkened room, curtains were closed, and the only light source within the room was the red digital clock that is constantly beeps in every second, until a person turns it down. _

_Feeling comfortable from his bed, he slowly sits up straight, yawning as he stretches his arms in the air before going up and opened the curtains, letting the sunshine beams through the room. _

_It was Eirian as he opened the window, staring the gorgeous pearl ocean in the distance while the birds were chirping. He wipes his eyes before going towards the kitchen as he prepared his morning routine, cooking, washing the dishes, taking a bath, and wore his new uniform as he stands infront of a mirror. _

_A dark green blazer with a red necktie, underneath it was a white plain tee-shirt, along with black shoes and black pants as he fixes his necktie infront of the mirror._

_He then grabs his brown leather bag before approaching the door, turning it sideways as he exited his dormitory room, there with a check again on the doorknob as for safety he started to walk away from the apartment style dormitory building as he descends via the stairs on his left. _

_Eirian walks alone in the empty streets of Oarai as few cars were rarely seen and people preferred to stay at their own houses as the time was around 6:30 in the morning, eventually he turned the corner and finally saw some people, specifically students from his new school as he saw the school infront in the distance, __**Ooarai Academy**__, a small school without any prominence whatsoever. _

_Eirian notices a couple of students guarding at the entrance gate of the School as they carefully inspect every student who entered the vicinity with a keen eye of responsibility as they're the members of the Public Moral Committee, noticeable with their black arm-band attached to their left shoulder._

_Eirian took a step as he was immediately halted by one of the members of the Public Committee, a young boy student like him, wearing the same uniform as he holds his yellow clipboard as he was about to interview Eirian. _

"May I request your name please?" _He calmly asks to Eirian as he prepared his clipboard and pulls out his pen. _

"I'm new here, the name is Eirian Braun Haiiro" _He complied to him. _

"Foreigner?"

"Hai… (Yes)"

"Do you already know your class, Sir Eirian?" _He then asks to Eirian as he was finished writing his name from his clipboard. _

"Not yet, is there a place where I can get some information in regards of my class?" _Eirian replied as he later asks him a question. _

"There's a desk just before you enter the building in the center, you can easily see it though" _He answered as he gestures him the direction towards the answer he was looking for. _

"Thank you very much" _Eirian bows his head to him in sighs of respect to him. _

"That's the purpose of the Public Moral Committee my friend, we are also happy to help you" _He bows his head also as he eventually gave him a pamphlet from his fellow subordinate. _

"Please take this, it contains the information and the map of Oarai Academy" _He added as Eirian receives the blue color pamphlet. _

_Eirian nodded to him before starting to walk away from the entrance gate, looking through the pamphlet he received as the place he was going is unknown to him. _

_Eirian didn't really understand the map very well as he was going in circles, he eventually found help as he saw a student in one of the rooms of the building he bypassed on. _

"Excuse me! I have a question" _He called out the student's attention. _

_The student turns around as the student was a girl, a very small girl with a long twin-tail hairstyle, reddish-brown hair, and a pair of beautiful brown eyes as she holds what seems to be a pack of dried sweet potatoes. _

"What seems to be the problem?" _She calmly and eagerly asks to Eirian as she immediately approaches him, as her height was very tiny compared to Eirian but she didn't mind it nor him also. _

"I'm kinda lost…" _He rubs his head in embarrassment. _

"You must be new here?" _She looks at him the eyes as she offers him a handshake. _

"Then welcome to Ooarai Academy, I'm Anzu Kadotani" _She introduced herself as she smiles at him. _

"Hello Kadotani I'm Eirian Braun Haiiro" _He smiled also as he accepts her handshake. _

"Brown?" _She holds her laugh as she thinks It was funny since Eirian's pronunciation of the name Braun was closely resembled to the word and color Brown. _**( Yes, Braun is Brown in German ) **

"It's Braun, not Brown…" _He corrected her as he lets out a sigh of disbelief._

"Sorry about that, Sir Haiiro, and also you can call me Anzu" _She chuckled as she's sorry about what she did to him as she was just teasing him earlier. _

"Hai, apology accepted, Anzu" _Eirian then flashed out another smile to her as he formed a connection to her, a new friend since his arrival in Zuikaku._

"So, what brings you here in Oarai? Sir Eirian?" _She asks as she was curious about his story as she looks at him. _

"It's just a sudden change of course, that's all" _He replied as he returned with a smile on his face. _

"Well, it seems really strange actually, since the fact that Oarai Academy is just a small School compared to others…" _She said as she looks at the walls, showing a hint of oldness as the cement wall was filled with small cracks. _

"But, I hope you have a fun time in here" _She then blocked him as she lets out a wide smile on her face, showing her happiness and gratitude that Eirian enrolled to her School._

"I will"

"Great! Shall we get going? Sir Haiiro?"

"Hai, lead the way, Anzu"

_Eirian slowly yet surely understands the map of his new School, with the help of the president, he managed to understand almost all the locations of his School, from the Canteen towards the hidden abandoned club houses that remained intact with history on the middle of a dense forest, and finally the warehouse in the east side of the school. _

"What's that?" _He asks to Anzu as he saw 5 red brick warehouses with a tower on the western side of its structure. _

"Oh that? That's just an old storage for Oarai's Senshadou" _She answered. _

"Oarai has a Senshadou team?" _He further asks. _

"Hai, but they were disbanded for unknown reasons though"

_Eirian then simply looks again at the warehouse in the distance as he thought Oarai didn't have any form of Senshadou in the past, but he was wrong, now the question has start to roam around his head as he and Anzu entered the hallways of a building. _

_Does Miho Nishizumi know this? How did Rommel didn't inform him about Oarai's infiltration with the __**JSF **__(Japanese Senshadou Federation) and if Miho know this, what will be her reaction, will she join it? or tries to hide her past, that's what Eirian wonders while walking on the corridor with Anzu on his side as she takes point and leads him the way. _

"You okay? Sir Haiiro?" _She asks as she felt something was different from Eirian. _

"What? Oh, I'm fine, thank you for worrying me" _He snaps back in reality as he flashed a smile to her, easing her worriedness to him. _

"Well, that's good to know, and congratulations! You have the knowledge of the locations of Oarai Academy!" _She then turned to normal as she gave him a pats on the back, giving a wide smile as they returned to their first meeting._

"If you ever wanted to asks in regards of this School, just go towards this room" _As she points out a door right next to her, probably the Student Council Room. _

"Hai, thank you for your cooperation, Anzu" _Eirian bows. _

"No problem! Kouhai (Junior)" _She chuckled. _

"Kouhai?" _As he went back to his normal posture, confused but soon flashed a smile as he remembered something in the past. _

"Oh…. Sure, I'll be heading to my room now, see you later" _He then said to her as he walks away from her while Anzu keeps waving at him until he disappears._

"Eirian Braun Haiiro… what an interesting person" _She chuckled to herself before entering the Student Council Room. _

_Eirian then went to class 2-A on the second floor of his building, he opened it and saw his homeroom teacher already introducing herself towards her pupils. _

"Speak for the devil, you're are already here, mister Haiiro" _The teacher sarcastically said as silence engulfed her class._

"But isn't class start at exactly 8 in the morning?" _He asks as he entered the room. _

"It's already 7:40"

"That little rascal…" _He mumbled as he was tricked by Anzu earlier as she told him that classes would start at 8 in the morning. _

"Well, mister Haiiro, since you are already infront of the class, would you kindly introduce yourself?" _The teacher then requested. _

"Hai" _He went infront of the class and surveyed it as he introduced himself. _

"Name is Eirian Bruan Haiiro, 17, came from Germany, I hope we can work together" _He introduces himself as later he bows at his classmates. _

_As he lowers his head he then saw a glimpse of his target, former Kommandant of Kuromorimine, Miho Nishizumi as he saw her on the far back of the class. _

"Miho Nishizumi…" _He then said to himself as he returns to his normal posture. _

"Well, that was a fantastic introduction, mister Haiiro, so please take a seat on the further right of the class" _The teacher then said as she gestures an empty seat in the back. _

"Hai, thank you Sensei (Teacher)" _He then walks to his seat. _

_He pulled the wooden chair and sat on it, taking out a piece of photo that he received from Rommel afterwards._

"Auburn hair and Light brown eyes, yup, that's Miho Nishizumi alright" _He said to himself as he drops a few glimpses at her while the teacher infront of them starts lecturing the class. _

_Eirian then looks away from her in attempt to hide his motives as he instead tries to listen his Sensei's lecture. _

_The lunch bell tolls on the silent walls of the hallway, marking a temporary end of their studies as they can now take a break, and this includes Class 2-A. _

_Eirian's classmates went to their respective groups as they went to different places, but some students like to remain on their seats, and one of them was Miho Nishizumi. _

_Nicknamed the "Knispel of Kuromorimine" Miho Nishizumi was more than an average player in Senshadou, she's a threat in the eyes of the Wittmann and that's what Eirian needs to do, find the motive and exploit it, and if all of it goes according to his plan, JIGA would benefit the fall of Kuromorimine._

_His attention then gets interrupted as he returns back in reality, Anzu Kadotani then greets her friend as she called his attention. _

"Sup, Kouhai!" _Anzu cheerfully said as she was holding her favorite snack. _

"Senpai? What are you doing here?" _He asks before taking a look on Miho's desk behind her, but as soon he takes a peek, she was already gone._

"Something caught your eye, Kouhai?" _She then asks as she looks at his direction, looking directly at Miho's desk before looking back at her kouhai again. _

"Not really… anyhow why are you here?" _Eirian took a sigh as he accidently let go of his target before looking at Anzu again. _

"Ah of course! Would you please come with me to the Council room?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Nope, it's confidential, and that's why I need you to come to the Council room"

"Confidential?"

"Hai, so move your butt and let's go, Kouhai!" _She then pulls his arm as she drags him towards to her office. _

_At first Eirian was hesitated to follow her but gave up soon after they walked out from the room as she continues to drag him, causing him to be embarrassed in which Anzu then took an advantage to it. _

"If you continue to hesitate, people might think us to be a couple, kouhai" _She teases him as she whispered to his ear. _

"Fine, I will fallow you, just let go" _He whispered back. _

"That's my kouhai" _She then releases his arm. _

"Just think of this as a way to repay her debt from earlier…" _He sighs before fallowing her as they went towards the Student Council room. _

_Eventually both of them arrived at the Student Council room, Anzu opens the wooden room as they entered the office like warehouse room as papers stacked like mountains and desks scattered around the large room, she then went to her another office as Eirian simply fallows her. _

_Anzu then opened her personal office as it was a refreshing in the eyes of Eirian as compared to earlier, her personal room was cozy, and simply, and it even has a flat screen TV. _

_A wooden desk in the center accompanied with an office chair behind it, a flag of their School stood right next to her desk and bunch of trophies are displayed on the corner of the room, and additional chairs stood at the edge of the room as they were occupied by three students._

"Miss Prez. where have you been?"_ A girl with a monocle asks to Anzu as she and the others approached the President. _

"Relax Momo-chan... Miss Prez is just doing her job"_ The other girl besides her replied as she explains the reason of why Anzu went MIA from her duties, but Monocle girl then ensued to sermon her as calling _"Momo" _annoys her. _

"Pardon with the first impression of my colleagues here" _The third one said as he approached Eirian. Tall, has short black hair, brownish eyes, with black glasses, and carries a black clipboard as he offers Eirian a handshake. _

"Names Kojiro Tsujihara, the treasurer of the Student Council"_ He introduced himself to Eirian. _

"Eirian Braun Haiiro"_ Eirian also introduces himself as he complies at Kojiro's offer. With a tight gripped they shake their hands as they both underestimated each other's strength and found immediate respect to each other very quickly. _

"Anyhow Eirian-kun, this is Momo-chan"_ Anzu cheerfully pointed the monocle girl as she introduces with a huge smile on her face while Monocle girl tried her best to correct Anzu from calling her name. _

_She then gave a fake cough in order to get Eirian's attention and personally introduce herself._

"I am Momo Kawashima, but please refer me as Kawashima, I am the PR manager of the Student Council, please to meet you"_ She introduced herself in a cool manner compared to her furious manner earlier. _

_Eirian simply nodded at her and then Anzu introduced the other one to him. _

"And she's my right hand assistance, Yuzu-chan"_ Again Anzu then introduced to Eirian another friend of hers in a happy manner._

_The other one then gave Eirian a 90-degree bow, elegant in such a way as she finally introduces herself to him. _

"Please to meet you, Mister Haiiro, I am Yuzu Koyama, third year and current Vice President of the Student Council." _She introduced herself in a freely manner as she showed Eirian her respect from him. A well-endowed girl with dark brown hair, has medium ponytail and a pair of dark brown eyes._

_Anzu then went to her seat in order to get things started while her colleagues went to their respective duties, leaving both Anzu and Eirian in the middle of the room. _

"So what's excatly the reason why I am here?"_ Eirian asked again the question he already asked from her earlier on his classroom._

_From the cheerful and Lucky-go-happy personality turned into seriousness as Anzu looks at Eirian deeply in the eyes (while eating her dried sweet potato) and finally answered his question straightforward._

"I am here to ask you a question..."_ She said as she took a bite from her favorite food. _

"Why are you here..."_ She asked causing Eirian to smile at her while closing his eyes while deep inside the stoic, lack in emotion still hides somewhere of his well-being façade. _

"I was here just to enroll and nothing else"_ He responded with a smile that anyone couldn't tell it was a lie. _

_Anzu looks at him feeling there is more to the story than he could say than the one he gave at her._

"Among all the places you can choose, Oarai Academy is your choice and that is weird considered the fact that J.I.G.A is a large Academy and can accommodate a large amount of students"_ Anzu stated a fact to Eirian as she was unsure why Eirian picked a local School like Oarai all of a sudden. _

_"_Well, since this is a public and all, I like it, a different from the way I used to be"_ Eirian replied as he hides his real motive from Anzu but Anzu was not giving up very easily._

"Fine, and lastly I saw you looking at a desk earlier, what are you looking actually? It seems you're on a mission_?" Anzu asked Eirian her final question as Anzu felt it weird that a person like Eirian would find interest on a girl during his first day and notably a person she knows and also took interests with._

_Since Eirian couldn't gave her his real motive and couldn't gave a convincing answer whatsoever, he pulled the oldest trick from the books. He looks away from Anzu while his face was blushing and easily Anzu was in total shock as it has only 1 reason why Eirian would do that._

"I-ah-I was having a crush on her" _Eirian answered while looking away from Anzu, feeling embarassed in all but pretending in order to hide his real motive and Anzu found it convincing as she went infront of Eirian and tried to speak with him._

_She burst out of laugher infront of Eirian as she teased Eirian from his (supposed) crush. _

"Isn't that too amazing... Kouhai, from a highly prestigious Academy, just fell in love with a Girl you have met and saw?!" _Anzu continues to laugh until she falls on her desk and still continues to laugh while her peers and Eirian looks at her confused as it wasn't a joke nor a happy moment like every student can feel that same situation but not on Anzu as she continues to laugh until she slowly went back to normal as she wipes her tears of joy. _

"May I go now?" _Eirian asks as he lets out a sigh infront of her. _

"Well, of course, Kouhai" _She answered as she gestures him to leave the room._

_Eirian simply nods at her before turning his back away from her and decided to leave the room as the time was almost running out for him, after Eirian closed the door Kawashima decided to approach Anzu as she gave her a piece of brown envelope before she started speaking. _

_The document contains alot of details from two interesting persons and one of them is Eirian and the other Miho Nishizumi. The detail contains alot of their Bio such as where they came from and many more but thae detail that interests Anzu was the photo of both Eirian and Miho, Eirian wore his standard Panzer-crew uniform that he used to wear during his time in J.I.G.A, but the most thing that sparks Anzu was below Eirian was standing, it looks like he was standing on a strange vehicle in a dark grey color as it has a long barel sticking out right behind him and what seems to be a cupola is sticking out just few meters away from him. Eirian stood at the strange vehicle as he gazes at the field of broken pieces of strange vehicles that is similar to his, smoke can be seen around the field and half of the strange vehicles are rolled over while people that were present on the field are just hanging around like nothing ever happened to them and thus from the perspective from Anzu, Eirian was witnessing the devestation he saw or better yet he commited. _

_Next is Miho Nishizumi. She wore a red shirt and matching skirt along with a black jacket with a matching red trim, nothing the ordinary from some people but for Anzu the way Miho wore sparks her interest even further as the uniform Miho was wearing was the standard Senshadou uniform of Kuromorimine Academy. On the photo Miho was watching the field of flowers along with a girl right next to her, her face wasn't shown but her short dark brown hair gaves Anzu the impact that she seen the girl before once in her life. _

_Anzu continued to look at the two photos while Kawashima said something to her in regards of the document she gave to her. _

"According to that, we assumed that Miho Nishizumi from Kuromorimine Academy and Eirian Braun Haiiro from the Japanese Influenced Germania Academy were former Commanders of their Senshadou teams respectively, and thus their assets would be greatly needed to our cause Miss President..."_ Kawashima briefly said as she was serious about it while Anzu just smiles at it before looking directly at her and then her colleagues with the same expression as earlier, happiness but with another intention in mind. _

"Welp! then it settled, Miho Nishizumi and Eirian Haiiro needs to join our Sensha-do Team!"_ Anzu declared as she points her sweet dried potato on the door where Eirian exited on._

"You would think both Nishizumi and Haiiro would join our team, Miss Prez?" _Yuzu asks as she was wondering if whether both Haiiro and Nishizumi were willing to join them. _

"You would think Kouhai would just simply enroll a local small School without any reasons, Yuzu-chan?" _Anzu said as she leans on her office chair. _

"Without a doubt, Kouhai is hiding something from us, and I will do anything to exploit that" _She added as she took a massive bite to her snack._

"Just you wait, Eirian Braun Wittmann-Haiiro…" _She giggled as she puts the photos of both Eirian and Miho's past on her desk. _

* * *

**Just leave a review :) and always remember, Panzer vor! **


	4. Chapter 4 - Meeting the team!

Chapter 4: "Meeting the team!"

_A spark of a memory lingers in the mind of Eirian as he walks through the silent corridors, looking down as he saw the warehouses in the distance that Anzu mentioned earlier as she gave him a tour around the campus. _

_2 years in the past, Eirian in his black uniform stood inside on a warehouse that overlooks a mass of steel vehicles, standing in rows upon rows as Eirian overlooked the whole arsenal of his Senshadou team during his time as a member of JIGA's Senshadou team called the __**Vorhut Sensha-dou Geschwader**__, or simply known as the __**VSG**__. _

_His looks were intimidating as he remained silent during the duration of his activity in the warehouse, while outside were the sounds of threads and engines roaring, but from the noisy environment, it slowly changes into a rather peaceful and calming situation as he returned back in reality walks down the stairs of the building before proceeding to enter his classroom again as the lunch bell tolls again, marking an end of their break. _

_He opened the door and quietly sat on his desk, not minding the people around him since he doesn't want people to be attach to him nor waste his time, but that doesn't someone in their class as he calls out Eirian's attention. _

"It's a lonely world without anyone to talk too, huh?" _The voice of a young boy catches the attention of a bored Eirian. _

"Pardon me?" _As he looks at the young boy with bright blue eyes, and dark brown hair as he was confused. _

"It seems you looked kinda lonely there, mister, and thus I would like to take this opportunity be friends with you" _He lets out a smile as Eirian didn't even look at him as he continues to watch the outside world. _

"Name's Takehiro, Haru Takehiro" _He introduces himself as he offers him a handshake to Eirian, causing Eirian to look at him finally. _

"Haiiro, Eirian Haiiro" _As he shakes his hand before looking back to the outside world again. _

"You don't like meeting new people huh?" _He asks. _

"Not really, it's just a waste of my time meeting with people that I don't need to be attach with" _Eirian answered as he said it with a harsh tone on his voice. _

"Humans are just beings who needs compassion and love, remarkable I would say" _He added. _

"Are you always like that to people you just met?" _Haru sarcastically said. _

"Always"

"Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

"Not really…" _Eirian lets out a sigh as he looks at Haru. _

"Listen Takehiro, is there something you need from me?"

"Nope, but you were lonely back there, so how about a friend would ease you up?" _Haru then tries to put on his best smile to his friend. _

_Another memory from the past sparks his reality, changing the silhouette of Haru to a girl that reminds him in his past, he showed a smile to him afterwards as he returned back to reality again. _

"Your personality really reminds me of someone I knew back then" _He said with a smile on his face. _

"Really? Should I be proud about it?" _He jokingly responded to him as he rubs the back of his head. _

"Not really" _Eirian chuckled in return as now he formed another connection with a stranger for today, first it was Anzu Kadotani, and now Haru Takehiro. _

_While both Eirian and Haru continued to chat, a girl in the front row was secretly watching them with her eyes straightly gaze at Eirian. _

_"_Eirian Braun Wittmann Haiiro... Should have known you'll be here…"_ She mumbled with a Russian accent on her voice as she covers her face by using her desk. _

_Long light brown hair with beautiful set of amber eyes, wearing the standard Uniform of Oarai, with an expection of her red scarf that warps around her neck that almost reaches her waist. _

_She continues to mumble herself as there was already a girl with blonde hair who was standing right infront of her, and she only realized her existence as soon she called her attention._

"Caught your attention by something, Alina?" _The blonde girl asks. _

"Oh? Elizabeth, what are you even saying?" _Alina then looks at her as she showed some hints of her being a nuisance. _

"You been staring at that guy since morning, do you like him?" _Elizabeth then teases Alina in which Alina opened her palm and stops her immediately. _

"No, no, that's just a misunderstanding, Elizabeth" _She casually responded as she remained her calm, though on the inside she was screaming already as Elizabeth gets the wrong idea. _

"Then why stare at him all morning?"

"That guy, Eirian Haiiro, is not what you think he is" _As she keeps her eye contact to her while gesturing at Eirian on the back of the class. _

"Why? Did you meet Haiiro before?"_ Elizabeth then asks in confusion, raising her eyebrow towards Alina. _

"Hai, I met him a while back ago" _Alina explained as she was serious about her topic. _

"Just, don't trust the guy very easily, okay?"

"Sure, if you say so" _Elizabeth flashed a smile towards her friend in which in return, Alina also smiles back towards her friend. _

"Thank you, Elizabeth"

_Elizabeth just smiled at Alina before going to her seat, as Elizabeth went to her seat she couldn't stop wondering at why would Alina gave an advice like that since Eirian looks like a normal person to her and this cause a lot of confusion on her mind, before returning to her seat she tried to shrug it off for the meantime as she sat on her desk, she looks at them and eventually stood up again and approached the two boys in the back. _

_Alina took her eyes off from Eirian for one second and then she witnesses Elizabeth approaching Eirian as this cause her to stand up from her seat in panic. _

"Crap! What's she doing?!" _She slammed her hand on her desk as a result of her panicking._

_Alina quickly ran towards her friend and able to reach Elizabeth just in time, she took a breathing first before confronting her friend. _

"What are you planning, Elizabeth"_ Alina said while she was still breathing heavily until she could finally hold it and relaxed a bit before Elizabeth could answer her. _

_"Well... I was just wanna meet him, you know as a classmate." She replied to her without hesitant or a tone of doubt. Alina widened her eyes as she was very surprised, eventually Alina mumbled something to her._

"Just don't get too cocky, or else you might reveal our secret…" _She mumbled._

"Hai, I won't" _Elizabeth giggles as Alina lets go from holding her arm. _

_Alina just looks at her in displeasement as she lets go Elizabeth. Eirian and Haru meanwhile watched both of them earlier as they did make a ruckus inside the class._

"Who are they?" _Eirian asks while Haru was still looking at them before he looks back to Eirian. _

"The little one with a red scarf is Alina von Pavlov" _He gestured the Alina in the back._

"She's Russian?"

"Half"

"And the other one?"

_But before Haru could answer his question Elizabeth was already behind him, with a tap on Haru's shoulder he immediately turned his back and startled at the same time as she almost causes him to suffer a heart attack, Elizabeth meanwhile took a smile at him before adding a comment to him._

"Still a scaredy-cat, are you Haru-kun?"_ She commented on Haru's tendancy to be easily be startled. _

"No! You just caught my guard down, Kousaka!"_ Haru corrected what Elizabeth said to him, while he was embarassed at what just happened and completely shut his mouth afterwards._

_"Ahh... Pardon me. Who are you excatly?" Eirian said to Elizabeth in as he confused as he knew for the fact that Elizabeth was staring at them awhile now but hesistant to say it infront of her and instead be passive about it. _

"I'm Kousaka, Kousaka Elizabeth"_ She introduced herself while giving Eirian a smile. _

"Well nice to meet you Elizabeth"_ Eirian replied while giving her also a warm smile. _

"Do you need something from us Kousaka?"_ Haru immediately asked Elizabeth, giving her a look of curiousity. _

_Elizabeth just smile before saying her intention to them with honestly and sincerly. _

"I'm just here because I wanna meet Haiiro here" _She said while giving a warm and welcoming smile to them both._

"He seemed to be lonely since this morning honestly" _She sarcastically added. _

"Is that even necessary?" _Eirian responded as he lets out a sigh. _

"Geez, that was just sarcasm, just take it as a joke, Eirian" _Elizabeth giggled._

"I know; I know…" _He continues to sigh. _

_Both Elizabeth and Haru lets out a laughter while Eirian slowly feels annoyance to them both on his inner self, eventually their class has started again as their next teacher finally arrives. _

_Orange color on the sky, clouds were moving along the swing of the breeze, it was already the time of their depature of their classes as Eirian walks alone on the street once again, returning to his dormitory as he walks in silence. _

_Eirian then saw a convenience store on his way home and went there for a moment, he walks away as he was holding a plastic full of noodles and many drinks, none of them were alcoholic as they were just softdrinks._

_The smell of the ocean greeted Eirian on his way home to his apartment as he walked on the side of the ship, his hair swayed easily as the heavy breeze swings around his brown hair, peace was very calming during that time as he looks over the sunset on the horizon, slowly descending into the ocean floor until everything falls in darkness, and eventually he arrived to his apartment as he turned the knob. _

_He opened his room, immediately he puts down his bag and his groceries on the table before going to his desk as he picks up a black telephone as he dialed someone. _

"Hello?" _The voice of Rommel firstly spoke on the telephone._

"It's me, Haiiro" _He answered, showing no emotions whatsoever as he became a dead person for the moment of their chat. _

"Oh it's you, care to report something, Kommadant?" _Rommel asks as he leans on his chair, putting his boots on top of his desk as he relaxed for a bit. _

"Miho Nishizumi… I already found her, in fact, I'm her classmate" _He said. _

"That's great! did she show anything weird to her behavior?"

"I have my doubts from our target..." _Eirian answered as he was full of doubt about earlier he witnessed._

_He took a moment of silence before continuing his report to Rommel. _

"That girl… Is she even a spy from Kuromorimine?" _He asks before adding some details to his question to Rommel._

"She's shy, quiet, and very clumsy from what I observed earlier, and would I believe that she's even a spy, I don't think so"

"Hmmm... It is seemingly unlikely that Kuromorimine Academy would simply abandoned her like that... To be honest Haiiro, I am also full of doubts, if whether this Miho Nishizumi is truly a Spy from Kuromorimine Academy or She just wanted to be a normal girl to Oarai Academy since that School doesn't have any form of Senshadou as they were disbanded decades ago" _Rommel stated as he was unsure about Miho's mission._

"Why didn't you told me that Oarai Academy has a team of Senshadou?"

"It seems unnecessary, and besides, Oarai is facing some difficulties in handling its maintenance, and thus they won't revive that team ever again" _Rommel guarantees him as he rests his back on the softest spot of his office chair. _

"Then is there any reason for Miho to enroll Oarai Academy?" _He asks. _

"Probably it might be related to the last tournament Kuromorimine entered last year"

"What do you mean?"

"The 62nd National High School Sensha-do Tournament was a devestating blow to Kuromorimine Academy. This was due to Miho who left her flag tank open in the field while helping a drowning teammate, this marked the unexpected end of an impressive nine years' victory streak by Kuromorimine Academy and Pravda High School took the spot as Champions of the 62nd" _Rommel explained as short as he could which Eirian understands it easily. _

"Well, I must say that was unexpected for her to do that heroic deed" _Eirian remark as he showed a grin on his face. _

"Such as Shame really"_ He then said with sarcasm on his tone._

"Victory isn't always everything, Panzerkraft isn't about glory or fame, it is the memories that makes it" _Rommel quoted as he told Eirian his perspective stand point in the sport of Senshadou._

"Maybe you're right, maybe you're not, but the fact is that our_**Vaterland**_(refers to Germania/Germany) is struggling against the_**Japanese Senshadou Federation**_(Known as **JSF)**, then I will do whatever it takes to bring glory to our country"_ Eirian responded as he gave his view about __**Panzerkraft**__ (Way of the Tanks) to Rommel._

"You might be right, but based on our current situation in this affair of between the _**Japanese Senshadou Federation**_and the_**Germania Panzer-Stil Federation**_, we must do anything to guarantee we will win this, for both to our country and our tradition as the Wittmann family" _He then gave his point as he would do anything that is necessary for winning this battle between the __**JSF **__and the __**Federation**__. _

"That's why JIGA was created, to let the world know that we are the best among the rest, and you are right, we will win this battle, definitely" _Rommel added. _

"Afterall, the _Vaterland_ is counting on us" _He also added as he looks at the portrait of him with Eirian, wearing their black Panzer-crew uniforms. _

"Keep up the good work, Haiiro, and also keep in mind, you can report back to me every weekend or so"

"Affirmative"

"Then we may now part ways, goodbye for now"

_Eirian just nods in return before the line of their transmission slowly departs into silence as the conversation finally ended. _

_He points down his telephone, after that he then prepared himself to end his day for now, eating nothing but noodles and softdrinks, taking a shower, and finally hits the bed around 9 in the evening. _

"Memories that makes it…" _He recalled something from earlier as he watches the ceiling from his bed, gazing into the nothingness of the dark room as he wonders about it, and soon he fell asleep for overthinking it too much. _

_It was a new day as Eirian walks on the pathway that leads to his School under the bright sunny sun, walking alone from the crowd of Oarai Students as he was just an introvert, but that didn't stop Haru Takehiro and Kousaka Elizabeth as they saw Eirian walking alone and thus they approach the lonely Haiiro and went to School together, while having a joyful conversation in which Eirian didn't feel annoyed to them whatsoever. _

_The School bell then rings as Eirian, Haru, and Elizabeth were already on their room Class 2-A, after a few minutes their class has finally started with the teacher lecturing them pretty immediately upon arriving. _

_While the teacher was writing something on the board, Eirian couldn't stop from taking a few amount of glimpses to his target Miho Nishizumi as she was paying attention to the lesson. Eirian was keeping a close eye to her while she remains to be clueless that someone was already watching her from afar, then the question arises this morning on his mind. Is Miho truly a Spy? Eirian thinks it thoroughly due for the circumstances he learned from Rommel about cause of defeat of her former School, Kuromorimine._

_The question still lingers on his mind until lunch time, where he receives the unexpected attention from Four students that entered his classroom._

_President Anzu Kadotani, RP manager Momo Kawahisma, Vice-President Yuzu Kojima, and Treasurer Kohiro Tsujihara as he called the attention of all students on Class 2-A. _

_They looked around for a bit until they found out their person of interests._

_Anzu then waves her hand in the air as she calls out the attention of Miho Nishizumi, and Eirian Haiiro. _

"Nishizumi! Kouhai!"

_Both Miho and Eirian were startled for the fact that they were called out during lunch time by Anzu as Miho simply eats her lunch with her friends while Eirian eats his lunch with Haru. _

_The Student Council went to Miho's seat while Kajiro went to Eirian's seat. "Need something Kojiro?" Eirian asked at him as he stood infront of him feeling curious and a bit of anxious. _

"We need to talk outside"_ Kojiro said with a straight face, and with a strong tone._

_Eirian looks at him, before nodding at him in agreement as he stood up and went outside. _

_Both Eirian and Miho stood outside the classroom hallway while their friends secretly watching them from afar. Both Eirian and Miho were anxious during the sudden meetup with the Student Council. Anzu looks at them and smiles as she saw their faces mainly Miho as she was confused, curious, and anxious about everything. _

"Sorry for the sudden meetup you two but for your mandatory elective, take Senshadou!"_ Anzu exclaimed at them as wants them to join Senshadou, after all she did found out that both Miho and Eirian were once Tank Commanders of their school. _

_"_Thanks"_ She immediately said afterwards. _

_Both Eirian and Miho were startled at what Anzu just said at them. _"But I thought this School didn't have a Senshadou classes?"_ Miho remarked at she was fully confused at what was happening. _"And aren't boys even allowed to join Senshadou classes?"_ She later fallowed as Anzu hold her shoulders with a grin on her face. _

"We're starting it back up this year"_ Momo answered as she remained her intimidation expression at both Eirian and Miho._

"Well... I transferred here specifically because I thought this School didn't have Senshadou" _Miho responded as she explained her reason to enroll at Oarai Academy. _

"Sounds like fate to me"_ Anzu stated as enthusiastic and cheerful as she could meanwhile Miho tries to reason Anzu about the freedom of picking an elective but Anzu didn't listen and simply thanked her for choosing Senshadou._

"So Kouhai, How about yo-"

"Not happening..."

"Haaaaaaa!? Why?"

_"_Same reason. I came here to test a different life instead of employing myself with _Panzer-Stil" _(Note: _**Panzer-Stil**_ is still related to _**Panzerkraft**_ and a **cousin to **_**Senshado**_**u**)

"But You wouldn't turn your backaway from your Senpai, right?"_ As she looks at him with puppy eyes._

"Hmm... What choice do I have, I came here just to experience a new life" _He lets out a disappoint sigh to Anzu._

"Then Senshadou it is! I knew I can rely on my Kouhai!" _She happily stated to herself before they immediately walk away like nothing happened._

_Both Eirian and Miho were confused at what just happened, Anzu forcefully joined two tank commanders of different Schools into the same team for what reason? The question arise as Eirian went inside the class while Miho stood like she was having a mid-life crisis, class continued and Miho was taking to the Infirmary with her friends as the felt sick and for Eirian, he remained normal and calm as he endure the class hours as he wants to report this sudden development to Rommel. _

_Class has ended but a sudden announcement just recently arrived._

_The speakers around the vicinity of the School just opened a they announced something. _

"Calling all students. Convene in the Gym"_ The Speaker announced as they took all the students' attention to convene at the Gym._

"Something important might happen... Come on, Eirian"_ Haru stated as he and Eirian went to the Gym along with the rest of their schoolmates. _

_Finally, they all arrived at the large indoor Gym. The Gym was so huge and quite vast that every student of Oarai managed to fit in while a chunk of space was still left out. _

_All of the students just waited for further annoucements and they were eagerly waiting for it. All of them sat on the floor with a few exceptions including the Hall Commitee and the Student Council which took the stage infront of the students._

_Eirian sat on the floor alongside with Haru, Eirian can see Miho in the distance along with her friends, but his attention was quickly drawn away from her as the lights sudden went black and the stage lit up as a huge white screen emerged from above the stage and while Anzu and her peers earlier confronted the students of Oarai._

_The announcement was declared, it's all about the starting orientation on Oarai's mandatory elective(s) to the newcomers and seniors of Oarai Academy. _

_The Student council walked away from the screen before the screen lit up again and showed a documentary, "Introduction to Senshadou" was the title. _

_While the documentary was rolling up, depecting many old forms of tanks, including the Mark IV and tons of Panzer IIIs. Yuzu became the spokeperson of the document and explained WHAT is Senshadou is._

_She explained that Sensha-do is a form of martial arts that involves the use of tanks as weapons. This Martial Arts is exclusive for women in order to develop self-esteem as young women, assist in becoming a professional and efficient citizen and develop the characteristics necessary for motherhood. _

_"But due for special circumstances the JSF announced that Boys can now legally join Senshadou as a Mandatory Elective" Yuzu stated that cuases the students of Oarai to be startled as they just recieved the announcement for the first time this includes Haru as he was surprised that boys were allowed to join on a Maiden only sport._

"No way..."_ Haru remark as he was totally shocked about what Yuzu just said at them._

_Yuzu didn't explain what was the reason of the JSF letting Boys in Senshadou but Eirian himself already knew the situation and gave a smirk at it. _

"This just makes the situation more interesting..."_ Eirian thought at himself as he looks at the Screen, where it stated __**"Modernization Policy"**__ while below it and said "This Policy allows Male participants to join and participate Senshadou". _

_The confusion started as the Gym was filled with chatter, both boys and girls were either excited, disagree and confused at what Yuzu just said. _

_Momo tried to shut them all up before she could explain the sudden revival of Sensha-do._

"It was decided that there would be a Senshado world championship held in Japan as such, the Ministry of Culture and JSF requested that all high schools strengthen their Senshadou teams"_ Momo explained which fallowed by Anzu. _

"So our School's starting our Senshadou class back up"_ Anzu stated that caused everyone surprised. _

"So if you choose Senshadou, we'll give you a lot of special benefits!"_ Anzu announced as she was hoping to gain everyone's attention of choosing Senshadou are their Mandatory Elective, which was explained by the speaker next. _

"To those who do well, we'll be giving 100 meal tickets for the cafeteria, 200 get out of jail cards if you're late to school, and you'll get three times the credit of a normal class!"_ Yuzu said as she listed all the benefits of joining Senshadou. _

_Everyone from the Gym were all surprised and kind of excited from the list of benefits they heard, three times the credits mean more allowances to some students, and even the 200 get out of jail cards was seemed a lucky investment to those who are lazy or always late. Though the 100 meal tickets were normal by standard when choosing a Mandatory Elective, but the 200 Jail card and Three times the credits means it sparks a lot of students in the Gym during that time. _

"Three times... this means I can save money for the very first time!"_ Haru remarked at the list, he was very excited of the many offers of joining Senshadou._

"That's a good way to persuade people"_ Eirian remarked at Haru's comment as he was normally calm during the chatter about the offer._

"So that's that. Thanks, everyone!"_ Anzu stated before she and her colleagues walked away from the stage as the screen showed an example study card which showed 10 elective studies they want to choose, as follows: Tea Ceremony, Flower Arrangements, Incense Ceremony, Calligraphy, Archery course, Naginata course, Aikido, Hermnitry course, Ninja course, and Senshadou (Panzerkraft) _

_Walking down through the cement pathway, Eirian was heavily invested on a small card on his hand, it was a list of clubs that he can potentially join. _

"So, anything caught your attention?" _Haru asks to his buddy as he was accompanying him while also carrying the same card._

"Probably _Aikodo_" _He replied as he was reluctant to join Oarai's Senshadou. _

"That's awesome! _Aikodo _sounds cool also" _Haru was happy to his decision as he gave him a pat on the back._

"How about you? Don't tell me you'll pick Senshadou?"

"Well, kinda…" _Haru then faked his laugh as he was embarrassed to admit it. _

"Why?"

"Because I made a promise to my friend when I was young" _He explained as he stops for a moment. _

"I want to fulfill that promise no matter what!"_ He added as he was very determined as he looked Eirian in the eyes, his passion was starting to burn brightly as he gave Eirian a determined smile. _

"No matter what, I'll keep reaching that dream until I achieved it"

_Eirian then pauses for a moment before he flashed a smile to his friend who was very passionate and determined to join Senshadou. _

"That's the right choice, keep reaching those dreams and promises of yours, Haru" _He said to Haru as he holds his shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up afterwards. _

"Hai! Thank you so much for the support, Haiiro" _Haru smiled in return before continuing to walk afterwards. _

"But you know, Senshadou would be fine wit-"

"Not happening" _Eirian then stops as he looks at his friend, he was very serious of not joining Oarai as he pauses him to stop talking. _

"But why?"

"I told you, I wanted a new life without any form of Senshadou"

"Please?"

"No"

"Pretty please?"

"Unbelievable" _Eirian sighs. _

"Why won't you?" _Haru still insists to know more at why Eirian didn't want to join Senshadou anymore. _

"Gonna go now, see you tomorrow, Haru" _Eirian didn't mind his question as he parted ways from him as he shortly arrived at his dormitory. _

_Inside the room was his safe heaven, a place to see his personality back in JIGA as he was comfortable of remaining a stoic person, a silent guy who can intimidate someone very easily with the look of his almost dead black eyes instead of pretending to be a cheerful and enthusiastic person. _

"What a day…_" Eirian sighs as he remarked at the events earlier as he soon prepared dinner. _

_After Eirian ate his dinner he immediately contacted Rommel and explained all the events earlier. Rommel by that time was still on his office but he didn't do anything productive that made him very busy, and it was the perfect opportunity to Eirian to report back at him. _

"_Aikodo_ huh? But why not Senshadou?" _Rommel asked. _

"Non-sense. I don't have any reason to join it, and plus, Miho Nishizumi is still hesitant to join Senshadou" _Eirian responded as he was not eager of joining Sensha-do._

"But what would happen if Miho Nishizumi joined Senshadou in her sheer will?" _Rommel then asked Eirian again as he open a possibility to Eirian._

"You see, it is maybe odd that Oarai Academy would revive its Senshadou classes again, but what would happen if Miho knew all of this and just pretends she didn't know it"_ Rommel then fallowed as he explained it to Eirian while gazing outside, looking at the stars in the night sky covered the entire horizon._

"Possible, but I don't think she can trick me very easily"

"How can you be sure? have you made contact with her already?"

"Ahh… no, I haven't made any social contact with Miho Nishizmui…"

"That's Eirian alright" _Rommel then sighs as Eirian still have no evidence to back up his claim earlier. _

"Anyhow, just watch Miho very closely, if she joins Senshadou, then you'll need to take more precaution in spying her, so you got two options: it's either you continue to be a stalker, or try to be a friend to her" _Rommel added as he understands the situation Eirian was having. _

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks"

"Don't mention it, report back again tomorrow"

"Hai, goodbye, for now"

_Eirian simply put down his telephone on the table before looking at the study card on his hand, still he hasn't decided any electives and yet he felt more towards at Aikido than in Senshadou but the question is whether he wants Senshadou or Aikido remained on his mind for the mind. Eirian didn't checked anything on the study card and decided to answer it by tomorrow as he went to his bed and shutting all the lights out. _

_To Miho Nishizumi's room, it was like Eirian's room in terms of size but for Miho's room it is more lively and more cure than Eirian's simplistic design. Miho was sitting on top of her pink bed as she looks at the study card that she received early from School, she was feeling upset as she looks at the unmarked study card as she didn't choose any electives yet, while holding her beaten up stuffed toy "Boko" she was having some terrible flashbacks around last year or so. This caused Miho to feel insecure and reluctant of choosing Senshadou as her initial elective. _

_That flashback was none other than the finals of the 62nd National High School Senshadou Tournament, as Miho felt responsible of the defeat of her former School Kuromorimine Academy she chooses not to pick Senshadou, and wants no part with it. _

_The next day has arrived and Eirian was one of the first to arrive at his classroom. There he was earlier than Haru or Elizabeth but saw Miho Nishizumi and her friends talking at Miho's desk. Eirian simply went to his chair before getting his study card and put it on top of his desk, still he didn't pick any electives from the list due for his inexperience with those particular courses, but Aikido and Archery are the most approachable to him since he knows them since he was a child, but decided to leave it be since he cannot decide thoroughly_

_Meanwhile to Miho she was still hesitant to choose Senshadou and instead picked the incense course and while her friends fell upset about not choosing Senshadou, they decided to join Miho's course as well and this cause Eirian to mumble something as he was looking at them in silence. _

"Remarkable..."_ He mumbled at them before looking directly at the study card._

"Well, I guess Rommel was wrong, Miho didn't want to join Senshadou after all" _Eirian thought to himself as he opened his pen before circling a specific elective._

"Then, this means I'm done, I'm going back to JIGA now…" _He flashes a smile as he leaned back on his chair, looking at the ceiling as he was satisfied, for the time being that is. _

_Classes has started and the students submitted their study card at the front, Eirian was smilling while submitting his study card and after that class was usual. Lunch time is now in effect and Eirian with Haru was at the Cafeteria where they eat curry stew (a famous Japanese cuisine), Eirian was peaceful during that time as he was free from his mission. _

_"_So did you pick_ Aikido_?_" Haru asked to Eirian in which he immediately responded back at him with a nod. _

"Yeah, though I'm still new about it, but I'm pretty sure that I can manage it"_ Eirian responded._

_"_And you pick Senshadou right? to fulfill a promise right?"_ Eirian asked immediately as Haru did decided to join Senshadou. _

"Yes, it's a promise that I will never forget"_ Haru stated as he smiled while looking at his curry stew. _

"Seems like that promise must be important to you"_ Eirian later fallowed with a question again to Haru as he saw him smiling and feeling like he was doing it for someone else._

"Hai! You're correct about that"

_Their conversation was dropped as the speaker of the Cafeteria suddenly declared an announcement. _

"Standard Class 2-A, Nishizumi Miho and Eirian Haiiro" _The speaker called out both the attention of Miho Nishizumi and Eirian Haiiro for unknown reasons, a screen from the center pillar of the Cafeteria showed an urgent message._

"Summons. 2-A, Nishizumi Miho and Eirian Haiiro, Student council room" _the message showed that caused both Miho and Eirian to be alarmed and giving Miho a nerve-racking experience._

"Another call from the council room?" _Eirian remarked as the speaker went in silence and the announcement was already in the past, though Eirian feel quite relaxed._

"You were summoned the other day? Wow, but Nishizumi was also included" _Haru wonders as he looks at Miho behind them who was very frightened that she was called also. _

"Yeah, and it's okay, they didn't sermon me or anything like that"

"That's reassuring…"

"Gonna go now, see you later" _Eirian then stood up from his chair as Haru gave him a nod in respond. _

_Eirian then walks away from the cafeteria, behind him was Miho Nishizumi along with her two friends as they went to the Student Council room. _

_Leading towards the Council room, it was very quiet on the hallways, since Eirian and Miho were acting strangers to one another even though both of them were classmates at the same class. _

_They eventually reach the Student council room and went to the President's office where they were greeted by Anzu, Yuzu, Momo and Kojiro. The tension of the office was on a different level as Anzu was feeling disappointed, Yuzu is upset, Kojiro is completely standing quietly behind Anzu's office chair, and Momo either Mad, disappointed and fuming with anger as hold two study cards._

"What is this about?"_ Momo demaded an answer from both of them as she showed them both their study cards. Miho choose Incense and Eirian picked Aikido. _

"Why did you both choose different courses..."_ Anzu asked from her seat, she was utterly disappointed and unsatisfied from them both. _

"There's almost no one with Senshadou experience in our school other than that Russian girl from their class"_ Momo stated to Anzu. _

"We're finished. Our school's finished!"_ Yuzu responded to the situation as she was fully upset. _

_Eirian felt nothing in response as he stood at the back of the room, his arms crossed and was utterly quiet during the start of everything since they entered the office. Though to Miho meanwhile she was anxious about it, and in fact her friends tried to defend her._

"Don't be selfish!"_ The gingerhead girl shouted back at them, she was eager to help her friend no matter what. _

"That's right. She said she doesn't want to do it, and now you're trying to force her?" _The other girl also defended Miho as she also said at them with a straightforward face, though her tone was abit calmly._

"Miho's not going to do Senshadou"_ Gingerhead girl later fallowed. _

"Please give up on Nishizumi"_ The other girl also stated as she requested them to let Miho alone. _

"Perhaps I'll make it so you won't be able to stay at this school much longer?"_ Anzu responded to both of them, she doesn't want to let Miho Nishizumi go and this caused her to threaten or provoke them in return._

_Eirian was surprised to see that the room was heating up pretty face, from him he was enveloped with another thoughts as he looked at them. _

"Miho is a former Kommandant (Commander) of Kuromorimine Academy, but she didn't choose Sensha-do..."_ Eirian pondered himself at the back of the room as he thinks Miho's situation abit._

_While Miho's friends tried their best to explain Miho's side and the atmosphere is quickly heating up, Eirian slowly came to one conclusion after pondering a viable solution. _

"I'll..."_ Miho tried to speak up but was suddenly cut by Eirian's voice. _

"I'll take Miho Nishizumi's place!"_ Eirian shouted from the back of the room. _

_All of them looked at him, Miho and Anzu were shocked and the rest was startled at Eirian's statement, Eirian looks at them back with a straightfoward face as he was serious. He approached Anzu's desk and explained something to her. _

"Look, Senpai! Miho doesn't deserve this kind of attitude, and though I don't have the responsible of protecting her, but that doesn't mean you're just gonna persuade her to join Sensha-do! It's her will and I decided that i will replaced Aikido to Sensha-do. In return you don't need to kick Miho Nishizumi out of this School..."_ Eirian explained as he confronted his Senpai, Miho suddenly felt flustered that a classmate of hers tried to defend her, even though they were still both strangers at one another. _

"I..." _Miho stated as she was still feeling something from her chest that was still tightening._

_This in return caused Anzu, and her fellow colleagues, Miho's friends and Eirian to look at her. Miho was hesitated but eventually she said what her chest was saying from earlier with confidence as she declared at them. _

"I'll do Senshadou!"_ She declared at them. _

"What?!"_ Eirian, and her friends were completely shocked about Miho's sudden declaration._

_This declaration and Eirian's statement caused the happiness of all the student council on the office. Yuzu cried with tears of joy, Momo smiled, Kojiro grinned, and Anzu returned to herself back again as she smiled at them. _

"Then that's it! Welcome again, Eirian and Nishizumi to Oarai's Senshadou!"_ Anzu happily and cheerfully said at them both as she eager to see them both again._

"What just happened…" _Eirian just stares at her, as he couldn't comprehend that happened during those precious few minutes of his life as a Student of Oarai._

_Whether it was by fate or not, will Eirian be able to change his prespective to Miho Nishizumi that now they join the same club or the same cause?_

* * *

**That was quite fast... welp, that's about it for this chapter, hope you guys enjoy it and see you all later. **

**Panzer vor! **


	5. Chapter 5 - Oarai Senshadou

Chapter 5: "Oarai Senshadou!"

_After that unexpected meeting with the Student Council, Eirian finally reported it to Rommel, and in return after Rommel heard all of it, he bursts out a laughter as he almost fell from his seat in his office. _

"Seriously is that even you?" _He jokingly asks as he wipes the tear of joy from his eye._

"It's kind of unusual for you to do it though, since you lacked in emotions back here in JIGA" _He added as he now properly sits on his chair. _

"I know that…" _Eirian lets out a sigh. _

"So what's your next move then?" _Rommel then asks as he became intrigued to this new development from Eirian's situation of his mission._

"I'll still need to follow the same protocol that you instructed me before, befriend her and backstab her within the grips of a new friendship" _He answered as keeps silencing his emotion towards at Rommel. _

"Backstab her within the grips of a new friendship?"

"Yes, and believe me, it's still a nuisance to befriend an enemy to JIGA"

"Our enemies are only the JSF, not its puppets" _Rommel then acknowledge him about their target in the beginning. _

"Puppet or not, the Nishizumis is still a threat to us" _Eirian then reminded him that the Nishizumis are still an enemy to the Wittmann lineage of Panzer-Aces. _

"True, but where's the sportsmanship from that?"

"You told me before to exploit her motives, so why are you picking sides with her?"

"It's not, the Nishizumis are still a threat, yes, but I don't want you to pull her with some dirty tricks, I want this to be fair and square"

"Why the sudden change of attitude towards our enemies?" _Eirian then asks as he notices something different from Rommel today. _

"Don't misjudge my words there, Haiiro…"

"But it's you we're talking about, though an asset of a Nishizumi would be beneficial to us if you persuade her to join us, but it's you"

"I'll keep that in mind" _Eirian just nods. _

"And lastly, if you want to report something to me, do it on weekends please?"

"Sure"

"Then see you next Sunday, Haiiro" _His final words to Eirian for this week as he ended their conversation as he puts down the telephone before looking directly at a person infront of his desk. _

"So, where do we start?"

_Another day has finally arrived on the streets of Zuikaku, Eirian in his uniform exited his room from his dorm, unbeknownst to him that someone was also about to exit her room as well. _

_Since Eirian is a shut-in student, he didn't know anyone in his dormitory, nor his neighbors and it took him by surprised that his neighbor was also a classmate of his. _

_Wearing the girls' uniform of Oarai, is a 2nd year, shared the class as him, and his main target, Miho Nishizumi. _

"Morning Haiiro" _Miho called his attention as he locks her door. _

"What are the odds…" _He mumbled as he also locks his door as well. _

"You said something?"

"No…" _He sighs. _

"Morning, Miss Nishizumi" _He then greets her as he forced a smile infront of her. _

_Then Eirian remembered a flashback from yesterday as both him and Miho were walking together, though their distance from one another was visible since Miho is still a shy girl towards others, notably boys. _

_**Flashback**_

_It was after the meeting with Student Council. Eirian, Miho along with her friends walked out the office as they were now finally free, Eirian is still speechless, confused, and out of character as he walked out from the office, but this sudden actions of him caused Miho to approach him. _

"Though we haven't spoken much, I'm very sorry about all of these, Haiiro" _Miho then apologizes as she bows her head infront of him, causing Eirian to return back in reality as he confronts her. _

"No need, I just did what I have to do" _He chuckled._

"Isn't this a problem to you since you didn't want to join Senshadou?" _She asks as she returns to her normal posture. _

"Not really" _He assured her as he lets out a light laugh. _

"That's good to know, and anyhow I haven't introduced myself to you properly though?"

"Then hello again, Haiiro. I'm Miho Nishizumi" _She introduces to him as she shows some hints of being shy as usual. _

"Hello to you too" _He replied. _

"She's my friend from our class, Takebe Saori" _Miho gestured at the gingerhead girl as she also bows at Eirian to show some Japanese etiquette to him._

"It's nice to meet you" _He said to Takebe as Saori simply blushes. _

"Nice to meet you too…" _She couldn't say the words properly as she was blushing as their eyes intertwined earlier before going crazy as she couldn't look him in the eyes, while mumbling something about him being her boyfriend all of a sudden but Eirian didn't pay her with enough attention as his attention was caught by Miho's voice. _

"And the other one is Hana, Isuzu Hana" _Miho then gestured to him her other friend in her group as the other girl was very elegant as she bows at Eirian in a proper manner. _

"It's a pleasure meeting with you, Sir Haiiro" _She said with a soft tone on her voice as she returned to her normal posture. _

"Likewise" _Eirian just smiles at her before a moment of silence and an awkward atmosphere occurred. _

"I do wish we can be friends, Haiiro" _Miho then broke out the silence as she wishes. _

"Well, for starters, we're classmates, so sure" _He responded as he assured her that they will be friends starting on this fateful day, causing Miho Nishizumi to be delighted and smiled warmly at him. _

_**Then the Flashback ended. **_

_Both Eirian and Miho are walking together on the sidewalks leading towards their School, it very quiet, awkward, and they felt an intense feeling in the atmosphere at they walked together in difference pace. _

_In Miho's case, meeting a boy was a rare occurrence to her since when she was little, all her schools that she attended were an All-Girls Exclusive Schools only, and thus meeting a boy or even talking to a boy causes her to be shy, anxious, and butterflies in her stomach. _

_While in Eirian's case, this is very unexpected since not only he would deny his morals against befriending his enemy, but also jeopardizing his lack of persona to Miho, and that's why he needs to cautious, but being this cautious makes things more awkward between the two of them. _

"So, Haiiro, you were once a _Panzerkraft_participant, right?" _Miho asks as she broke the silence between the two of them. _

"Yeah, a _Panzer-Stil _participant that is" _He answered. _

"_Panzer-Stil? _Isn't that from Germany?" _She further asks. _

"If you know your history, yes, I'm a participant of _Panzerkraft_ in Germany"

"Well, I was once a former Commander in a School that it known for its Senshadou team…" _She said as she felt a tightness in her chest as she remembers something in the past. _

_Eirian just pauses for a minute, before asking her something. _

"Nishizumi, are you sure you want to continue?"

"Hai, I just don't want to let the President and the others down, notably my friends" _She said as she regained something, a desire to may will burn forever as she found the courage to join Oarai Senshadou again. _

_This causes Eirian to put more doubt on her actions as being a spy from Kuromorimine as they continued to walk together, she was taking the lead as Eirian was at the back. _

"Everything doesn't add up now, I'm having more doubts, is she tricking me? Does she know who I am?" _He started to think more irrational thoughts as he didn't know that there was a streetlight infront of him._

_He bumped his face directly at the metal pole and falls on the ground, Miho then took immediate actions as she approaches him without hesitation._

"You alright?" _Miho asks, she was very worried as Eirian has a small injury on his nose, specifically his dorsum. _

"Yeah, just a small injury, nothing to worry about"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" _As he tries to stand up before Miho stops her halfway. _

"No you're not! Your nose has a slight injury, just don't move" _She insists to help him as she grabs her small medkit on her bag, reaching out for a small piece of adhesive bandage, a boko fully colored plaster. _

"If you think I'm putting that then sorry" _He still then denies the use of that childish product into his injury but this causes Miho to pouts._

"Come on, don't be like that, I just wanted to help you" _She pouts. _

"No…"

"Don't be dumb, Haiiro"

"I said no…"

"Just accept it, nothing would change if I patched you up" _She still insisted. _

"Fine…" _He then gives up pretty easily as turns his head away from her, but Miho was the one who puts the plaster on his nose._

"Thank you…" _He mumbled as he his expectations from her differs in reality as upon looking at her, she was smiling brightly. _

"Your welcome, just happy that you're fine now" _She said in a happy tone as she helps him to stand up. _

"Yeah, just it's kinda embarrassing that I got patched up by a girl like you" _He mumbled as he looks away from her, feeling embarrassed from all of it._

"Huh?"

"Nothing…"

_After that the two of them continued to walk towards Oarai Academy, eventually reaching their Class as they stood infront of the door that divides them from their class. _

_Miho slides the wooden door, inside they saw few students present at their room, including Saori, Hana, and Haru. _

"Morning" _Both Eirian and Miho greeted them in unison._

_The girls looked at Miho in a misunderstood manner as Saori gave her a smirk as it would be unlikely that Miho and Eirian entered the same class together, while Hana was just happy to see them, and for Haru, he gives a thumbs-up to Eirian while giving him a wide smirk._

"Isn't this a shocking revelation" _Haru teases them as he approaches them on door. _

"Miporin! That was fast of you having a boyfriend already!" _Saori then said as she feels envious at her friend. _

_Miho then realizes it after a brief seconds of pause on the doorway, she blushes slightly as she explains the situation. _

"No, no, no! It's not like that, Saori" _Miho tries to explain their situation. _

"Koddos to you, my friend" _Haru then nudges him on the side as he teases him._

"This is unbelievable…" _Eirian then walks away from the doorway as he stops for a moment to tell everything to Miho's friend before going to his seat._

"There is nothing between me and Nishizumi, we lived on the same floor and were in fact neighbors, it's just pure coincidence of meeting her earlier, nothing more, nothing less" _He explained to the girls before walking towards his seat like nothing happened, easing the situation immediately as Miho was very thankful to Eirian. _

"Thank you for clearing everyone up, Haiiro" _Miho then bows at him as she was thankful for his actions earlier. _

"It's nothing, now go to your friends now"

"Hai, thank you so much" _She went back to her friends as Haru then replaces her. _

"You know; Miho is kinda a sweet girl" _Haru then said as he points on the plaster on Eirian's nose. _

"It's a nuisance for me to have a relationship with a someone on a time like this, I prefer to spend my time on doing Senshadou than making a deep relationship with either or any girls on this School…" _Eirian replied as he feels annoyed for a bit. _

"Really? Are you always like that?" _He then further asks. _

_While the two continues to chat on corner of the room, Alina couldn't stop at taking glimpses on Eirian in the corner, not knowing that Elizabeth was already infront of her desk as she called out Alina's attention. _

"Alina~" _She calls out Alina's attention as took her by surprise._

"Elizabeth! Don't do that, you almost scared me to death…" _As she took a second to recover her breath as she finally looks at her friend. _

"What do you want now?" _She then asks as she confronts her blonde friend. _

"It got me wondering about him, do you by any chances like hi- "

"That's non-sense!" _She answered in a hateful manner, her voice was being harsh as she crossed her arms. _

"I already told you before and I will say it again, he's not that type of person before" _She added as she reminded her what she told about Eirian the other day. _

"Yeah I know, but people can change"

"But not him, he's different" _As she turns her eyes towards the boys on the corner of the room. _

"I couldn't put my finger on it, but his hiding from us, I can just feel it" _Alina added before looking at her friend again as she gave her a reminder. _

"So if you ask that same question again, my answer would be no, okay?"

"Why so much hate on him, he seems kinda normal to me"

"It's because I have a long history with him, and his family" _As she lets out a sigh. _

"History?"

"It's complicated, and it would make you more confuse than you are now"

"I see…"

_Eventually the class ended their session of studying for today as all of them went to their respective clubs. Eirian, Haru, Miho, Saori, Hana, Alina, and even Elizabeth went on the same club meeting infront of the warehouse within the School boundaries. _

_There were total of 22 recruits but 26 would be the total number if it includes the student council, the groups were easily divided as there are total of 6-7 groups from the recruits and these are; the freshmen, the historian, the volleyball team, the student council, Miho's group, Eirian's group, and Alina's group._

"Are you okay with this, Alina?" _Elizabeth asks as they saw Eirian on the group. _

"I think I can remain myself cool for the time being…" _She answered as she hides the grudge on him. _

"If you say so" _Elizabeth then lets her alone as they waited for the meeting to start. _

"It's kinda surprising to see that we're the only boys on this meeting…" _Haru said to Eirian as he notices that they were the only boys on this meeting, except of course the treasurer of the Student Council as Kojiro was also presence on the meeting._

"A lot of boys picked _Aikido_ and the _Ninja course_, since _Senshadou_ is still viewed as a feminine sport" _Kojiro explains to them as he adjusted his glasses. _

"But what about the benefits?" _Haru then asks to Kojiro. _

"The other clubs also offer a lot of benefits as well, maybe that's the reason why a lot of boys preferred them than picking _Senshadou_" _He explained in a casual manner before their attention was caught off by Momo. _

_"We'll be starting Sensha-do class" Momo announced as they stood infront of them. _

_The door behind the student council slowly opened and revealed the interior of the abandoned warehouse. Dust, boxes, cobwebs and a vehicle covered with rust greeted the Senshadou members as the warehouse was packed with stuffs. _

_The light from the outside shined to the interior of the warehouse as it reveals at one of the Senshadou club could offer to them. A vehicle that was covered in a __**dunkelgrau**__ (Dark grey in German) camouflage, has large metal threads, a strange shape hull, and a turret with a small barrel attached to it, it was clearly a __**Panzer IV Ausf. D**__ used by the Germans during WW2. _

_The Panzer IV was the only tank in the warehouse and its condition was worse as it was covered by rust and the threads were snapped but Miho approached it without hesitation and inspected it closely before she gave a thought about the tank in its condition._

"It looks like the armor and threads are just fine"_ She said as she stares at the Tank._

"We might be able to work with this" _She added as the freshmen and her friends were very surprised that Miho was in fact an experienced Senshadou player. _

"Can we even work with this beat-up thing?" _One of the freshmen asked to her group as they stare at the Panzer IV as it was under a worse condition._

"Probably. I think newer tanks are better, just like finding a new guy" _Saori answered but the last part of her sentence was not really necessary for the question. _

"I don't think that's right" _Hana replied to Saori's answer. _

"How am I wrong?"

"Miho is amazing, don't she?" _Haru then asks as he admires her prowess as his eyes were burning with admiration towards at her. _

"Yeah…" _Eirian replied as he wasn't surprised that Miho tries to use her skills in Senshadou infront of all these beginners. _

"Anyway... We only have one tank here, right?" _Saori asked as Miho inspects the Panzer IV a bit._

"With the number of people we have..." _Miho fallowed. _

"We'd need six total"_ Momo then answered._

"Then how about we all go looking for tanks?"_ Anzu suggested to them as they need 5 more tanks._

"Huh?!" _Some of the members immediately reacted._

"What? Looking for tanks?" _One of the volleyball team stated to the student council president. _

"How are we supposed to do that?" _Haru then asked to them as he have no idea in the situation they were having. _

"Our school got rid of _Senshadou_ several years ago, but the tanks that were used should still be around" _Momo explained before she corrected something._

"No, I'm sure they're here" _She corrected herself._

_"_Our _Senshadou _instructor should be coming here the day after tomorrow. So we'll find the remaining five tanks before then"_ Momo later fallowed as she told them to look for the remaining Tanks for the time being. _

"Where do you think we might find them?"_ One of the historian buffs asked them the question that all of the recruits were wanting the answer of it, which Anzu answered it with honestly._

"We're looking for them because we don't know where they are"_ Anzu responded as she nor her colleagues have any idea for the locations of the remaining tanks that Oarai possessed._

"You don't have any idea?" _One of the freshmen stated to the student council president which Anzu easily answered it with her smiley face. _

"Nope!" _She said it with enthusiasm on her tone. _

"Now everyone. Start the search!" _Momo immediately gave them the order to search for the remaining five tanks. This cause the members of the newly revived Senshadou club to search for the remaining tanks. Almost every one of them started the search of the remaining tanks except for Miho's group and Eirian's group. _

"What should we do?" Haru then asks as he have no idea where to start.

"This is lot different from what we were told" _Saori said to Anzu as she was utter disappointed. _

"Isn't doing Senshadou supposed to make you popular" _She later fallowed as she stated a "Myth" to Anzu which she approaches her and replied her something to give her determination back._

"A pretty cool instructor is coming tommorow" _Anzu replied to Saori in which Saori immediately became herself again. _

"Really?!"

"Yeah, really. I'll introduce you"

"Then I'll get going!" _Saori said with enthusiam as she was filled with determination as she, Hana and Miho went outside in order to find the other tanks, and thus this leaves Eirian's group. Eirian looks at the Panzer IV as he touched the side hull of the tank, causing Haru to ask Eirian about something._

_"_That reminds me, Haiiro, you're a_ Panzerkraft _Commander right?_"_

_"_Yeah, a _Panzer-Stil Kommandant_ actually_" _

_"_Then that means we have a total of 3 experienced Commanders then"_ Anzu said as she approaches Eirian and Haru with her colleagues behind her while eating her favorite dried potatoes._

_"Three?" Eirian asked to Anzu as he was confused that they're three Commanders than two. _

_"You mention the other one was Russian correct" Eirian asked to Momo immediately as he looks at her which Momo nodded at him._

"Haru. Correct me if I'm wrong but we have a half-Russian classmate right?"

"Alina Von Pavlov is what you're referring at? then yes she is a half-Russian student of our class"_ Haru answered. _

"Wa-wait?!"_ Haru was utterly shocked when he finally understands the thought of an additional experienced Commander was their classmate all along, this was of course referring to Alina von Panlov, the quiet yet a "Tsun-dere" person to everyone._

"That girl with anger issues?" _Eirian then asks again if they were referring to Alina in which Anzu simply nods at him as it answered his question. _

"More like a _Tsun-dere _to me though" _Haru then said. _

"But this means she's either a _Senshadou _Commander or a _Put' Tankov _Commander..." Eirian suggested as he was thinking about Alina's past _Panzerkraft_ experience.

"Ahh… what's the difference between the two though?"

"_**Senshadou**__, __**Tankery**__,__** Put' Tankov**__, and __**Panzer-Stil**_are all branches from _**Panzerkraft**_. _**Panzerkraft**_ is a concept that employs the using of armoured Vehicles, it has two categories; one is used for entertainment purposes, and that is called _**Panzerfahren**_, and the other is what we called the martial arts and this category contains all branches I aforementioned earlier" _Eirian explained not only to Haru but for the rest too._

"I get it, but that doesn't explain the difference though, is _Put' Tankov _is the same as _Senshadou_?" _Haru then further asks. _

"All of the branches Kouhai mentioned are distinctly unique from one other, for example in _Senshadou_, the girls are only allowed to participate, while in _Panzer-stil_, both boys and girls are allowed to participate it"_ Anzu responded by answering Haru's question before Kojiro continued Anzu's answer._

"In _Put' Tankov's_ case meanwhile it is quite similar to the _Panzer-stil_, they both employ WW2-era Tanks and both of them are Co-ed, but the main difference between them and _Senshadou_ is that _Put' Tankov_ allows more Tanks to field and deploy during matches compared to _Senshadou_ which only allows 5 to 30 tanks per team depending on the match" _Kojiro expanded Anzu's answer._

"Like they said, more in numbers means more the fun" _Anzu jokingly said as she chewed her favorite food. _

"Well, except for that fact that _Put' Tankov _was widely used by the Soviets during the on course of the Second World War, and that's why they remained the tradition of allowing more than 30 tanks per game" _Kojiro responded as he adjusts his glasses. _

"You don't get it, do you? It was just a joke…" _Anzu mumbled as she avoids eye contact to Kojiro. _

"Hehe, well, that was a decent explanation there, but I should go now…" _Haru then reacted to the situation as he felt the atmosphere getting intense, pulling Eirian out as he tapped his shoulder. _

"Right, we will head out now, we'll meet you guys later" _Eirian added as he and Haru walks away from the warehouse as they attempted to go towards the forest right infront of them. _

"So there they are, going towards the forest I see" Anzu remarked as she continues to bite her favorite snack.

"Hai, but you sure they will find those missing tanks?" _Kojiro then asks if whether the possibility of finding the tank was even real in the first place. _

"Since you're always a cryptic person in all of these…" _He added. _

"Oh just believe in them, would you?" _She then smiles as she pats him in the back, causing his glasses to almost fall off. _

"Right…" _He just looks at Anzu while she was walks away from him before looking directly at the dense forest in the distance as it was where Eirian and Haru started. _

_Meanwhile the members of the newly revived Senshadou club are doing their best as they look around for the remaining tanks, the freshmen went to the library, the volleyball team went hiking, the historian went to a lake, Miho's group went to the parking lot, Alina and Eirian's group went to the forest but both of them were in separate groups. _

"According to the map this place has the potential to have tanks in the area"_ Haru stated as he holds a geopolitical map as Eirian takes the lead as both of them wondered through the forest. Nothing but trees, bushes, and branches filled the area as the further they get the denser it gets. _

_"_Well, let's hope to see some tanks around this forest…" _Eirian replied as he checked the bushes before going to a tree right close to him. He took a glimpse from the area as he approaches the tree and suddenly right off the bat he saw a broken metal vehicle covered by branches and bushes._

"Hey Haru, I found it!"_ Eirian shouted to Haru as he ran towards at him in order to take a glimpse at the metal vehicle hiding in the bushes. _

_Earlier Alina and Elizabeth were wondering around the same forest as Eirian and Haru ventured too, without a map the both of them easily got lost, but Alina didn't stop to continue searching the remaining tanks in the area._

"Alina, do you really think this place has some tanks on it?" _Elizabeth asks as Alina was taking the lead. _

"I'm positive that we can find a tank here, this place was once a training field for Oarai's _Senshadou_ back in the day" _She replied as she looks around the bushes for a bit, before going somewhere else._

"Just face it, Alina. We're lost, don't we?" _Elizabeth then takes the breath as she rests for a moment._

"No we're not, and besides the Student Council would easily locate us on a forest like these" _Alina then explained as she pulled out her flipable phone but upon opening it she found something wrong. _

"Something the matter?" _Elizabeth then went to her in order to see the problem within Alina's phone and it was, no signal. _

"No worries, we can just find some landmarks to determine our location" _As Alina was starting to panic as she tries her best to find their way out from the forest. _

_Both Alina and Elizabeth then started to find their way out by finding some landmarks within the forest and eventually they did, within the middle of the forest, they saw a bunch of targets (Also known as Matos) that embedded on the branches of the trees as someone was practicing Kyudo or Oarai's Archery course. _

_Using a tall, wooden bow, she shot the Matos with ease as she realizes someone was already watching her from the distance. _

"Elizabeth?" _The girl then asks as she puts down her bow and approaches both Alina in Elizabeth as they were grateful that they met someone already. _

"Kosuke, it's you!" _Elizabeth then raised her smile as help has finally arrives. _

"Who?" _Alina was clueless. _

"Oh pardon the introduction, but I'm Kosuke, Natsuki Kosuke" _She then introduces herself with an elegant smile on her face. _

_Kosuke is a beautiful girl that even rivals the beauty and ladylike apperance of Hana Isuzu, though the difference between the both is that Kosuke tied her hair on a ponytail hairstyle but her ponytail still reaches her waists and on the front side of her hair she has a longer strand of hair of her right side compared her left which is shorter which makes her both cute and beautiful at the same time, she has grey eyes and a ladylike figure._

"I'm Alina, Alina von Pavlov"

"Nice meeting you Alina, though we shared the same class though" _She giggled. _

"So what brings you here to this secluded area in the forest?" _Kosuke then asks as they went on the nearest shade and sat for a moment. _

"We were kinda lost actually…" _Elizabeth answered in embarrassment as she rubs the back of her hair while giving a fake laugh. _

"But why though?" _She further asks._

"You see, we were looking for tanks" _Alina then answered, _

"Those strange looking vehicles that are covered with rust, a metal thread, and a long barrel sticking out" _She added as she gave a descriptive information about a tank._

"Oh, you mean over there in the distance?" _Kosuke then asks as she gestures something in the distance, as an appearance of a black figure that stands out from the greenish color of the trees and bushes, immediately Alina stand up as they finally found their tank. _

"Bingo!" _Alina said wither determination and a smile on her face as she stands up. _

"Thanks a lot, Kosuke" _She takes a quick bow before starting to fallow that direction Kosuke pointed earlier._

"Come on, Elizabeth!" _She then proceeds to walk towards that location, Elizabeth then fallows her leaving Kosuke behind, but Kosuke then called their attentions immediate. _

"Something the matter, Kosuke?" _Elizabeth asks as she pauses from fallowing Alina. _

"Can I… Join you girls?" _Kosuke asks as she was embarrassed as she covered her face, not even looking directly at Elizabeth and Alina. _

"Then come on, let us go then" _Alina immediately said as she shouted in the distance, causing Kosuke to be surprised at first and eventually she and Elizabeth fallowed their white haired classmate. _

_Eventually the group of Alina finally found a Tank as it casually lay around the bushes. A strange shape vehicle with the same structure as the Panzer IV earlier but smaller and has a longer yet narrow barrel sticking out on its turret, and a snapped metal thread that lies around the ground. _

"Is that a tank?"_ Kosuke asked as she was fascinated from the tank._

"It has a Dark grey color... Isn't like that the tank from earlier?"_ Elizabeth added as she saw the similarity of the both. _

"It's Panzer III"_ Alina answered as she approached the Panzer III. _

"You know that stuff?!"_ Elizabeth stated as she was surprised that her friend knew the Tank from the start they laid their eyes at. _

"Specifically a Variant M, armed with a 5cm barrel" _A voice that remainded them somehow called out their attentions as they looked above the trees and saw both Eirian and Haru having a conversation about the tank below the boys. _

"It's you two" _Elizabeth's voice called the attention of both the boys as they looked down from their current location. _

"Elizabeth! glad we see you" _Haru then jumps out and landed on the ground perfectly as he approaches her. _

"Then this means we're technically a team now" _He added as he counts all the presence on the area, a total of 5 students and thus they created a team and this causes Alina to be startle at. _

"What?!"

_The 5 of them discovered a new tank, the same location as Miho's gang did as they discovered a new tank, meanwhile the volleyball team also discovered a new tank within a narrow cave, and then in the lake, the Historians found an assault gun, and finally the freshmen found a tank in the middle of an abandoned warehouse as it was now the shelter of rabbits. _

_A few hours have passed as the Automobile club managed to pull out all the tanks from their places into the warehouse of Oarai as they lined up in a single line, infront of the opened warehouse as the Student Council inspect the tanks they found._

"A Type-89 medium tank I-Go (Chi-Ro), a Panzer 38(t) light tank, a medium tank M3 Lee, a Stug III, a Panzer III Ausf. M, and a Panzer IV Ausf. D"_ Momo explained as she stated all the tanks that were available to them for the time being._

_"How should we assign them?" Kojiro asked the President which Anzu suggested him an idea. _

"How about we just have them ride the ones they found?" _Anzu suggested as she continues to look at the M3 Lee with its unique two long barel sticking out from the turret and the main hull. _

_"_Are you sure we shouldn't do more than that?"_ Yuzu asked to Momo which Momo immediately decided their Tank as she didn't answer her question. _

_"_We'll take the 38(T)"_ Momo stated before she looks at Miho group since they were the ones to locate the Panzer 38(T)._

"You guys take the Panzer IV"_ She later fallowed as she gave the ownership of the Panzer IV to Miho's group which was now compose of four girls instead of three with the additional girl which is a WW2 geek and a Tank enthusiast._

"Huh? Oh, Hai..."_ Miho's only response as she later accepted the ownership of the Panzer IV._

"So the Panzer IV will be A-team, the Panzer III will be B-team, the Type 89 will be C-team (Volleyball team), the Assault III: D-team (The Historians), the M3 Lee: E-team (the freshmen), the 38(T) F-team (The Student Council)"_ Momo then gave them the assigned teams as she continues. _

"Our instructor will be coming tomorrow. Make sure you behave properly".

"Hai!"_ All of the members understood what Kawashima said to them, they immediately went to their respective tanks. Meanwhile for Eirian's group they simply look at the rusted Panzer III. _

"That is our Tank then..."_ Elizabeth said as she gazes at the rusted Panzer III. _

"If I am correct that is a Panzer III right?"_ Kosuke ask to Alina which she was right next to her as it was the first for her to see a Tank in close range. _

"Hai. This is the Panzer III model M" _Alina answered as they continue to look at the Panzer III. _

_"It's barrel is long though..." Elizabeth remark at the Panzer III as the long barel was in good shape. _

_"That's the 5cm Kwk39 L/60" Eirian stated to Elizabeth as he gave her a piece of knowledge about the main armament of the Tank._

"It was the primary weapon of the later models of the Panzer III"_ Alina added as she climbs the tank. _

"Wow! You know so much about this Alina"_ Elizabeth said to Alina as Alina opened the cupola of the Panzer III._

_"_Well... I was a _Put' Tankov_ Commander back in the day_" Alina casually replied as she checks the interior of the Panzer III._

_It was in good condition though the interior was covered in rust. The turret was in good shape as the necessities are provided and maintained perfectly, it can accommodate 5 individuals but one individual in particular must remain standing due for the seats available on the tank as it can only accommodate 4 rather than 5. _

"The Interior is in good shape everyone!"_ Alina announced to them as she closed the cupola of the Panzer III before jumping out from the tank._

"This Tank is in good condition but the place is covered in rust"_ Alina stated to her group. _

"But we still need to clean it"_ Alina later fallowed before she started to gaze at both Eirian and Haru but she tried her best to avoid eye contact to Eirian._

"You boys will clean the interior while WE clean the exterior!"_ Alina ordered to them as she point her finger towards them both. _

"Oh. Sure thing"_ Haru responded with a smile on his face as he immediately fallowed Alina's order as for Eirian he nods at her before they started to get going. _

_After a while the members of Oarai Sensha-do started to clean their tanks, it was exhausting as not only they need to scrape all the rust but also wash and clean the tank both interior and the engine of the Tank._

_It was around noon as they finished their cleaning duties, it was very exhausting as all of them are beat and this includes Eirian and Haru as they did all the heavy work._

"We'll have the vehicle club do the rest of the maintenance tonight" _Momo stated to her fellow members as she and Anzu were the only ones who didn't participate of cleaning their 38(T) as Kojiro and Yuzu did all the work. _

"Everyone is dismissed for today!"_ Momo announced as she dismissed all the members of Oarai Sensha-do. _

_"Good work everyone I think all of us deserve a pack of dinner tonight!" Elizabeth cheerfully praised her friends with a smile on her face._

"I'll cook us some Curry then"_ Haru later stated to them as Elizabeth and Alina immediately confronted Haru as they want some delicious Curry. _

_Kosuke simply looks at them from a distance until her attention was caught by Eirian's voice. _

"Hey!"_ Eirian yelled as Kosuke's attention went from Haru, Elizabeth, and Alina to Eirian Haiiro. _

"Thanks for helping the tank earlier" _Eirian added._

"The pleasure is mine, Haiiro. I am just happy that I managed to help Pavlov and Elizabeth"_ Kosuke replied as she was smiling to him._

"Oh, pardon me, but my name is Kosuke, Natsuki Kosuke" _She then introduces herself as she offers a handshake to him._

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Kosuke" _Eirian responded as she shakes her hand._

"Hey, Eirian! Care to join us?" _Haru then said as he catches Eirian's attention from the distance, waving his hand in the air in order to get his attention. _

"Join what exactly?"

"A feast! It's a way to show our work paid off for today" _Haru said. _

"Well, what do you say? Care to join us?" _Elizabeth then asks to him as she approaches the two. _

"Sadly I can't, but maybe next time I will" _Eirian politely refuses as he has something else to do which it bumps out Elizabeth as she flashes out a pout._

"That's quite unfair, but that's okay" _Elizabeth then immediately returns to normal as she pats Eirian in the shoulder. _

"Good luck on your… errands, and see you again tomorrow" _Elizabeth then said in a cheerful manner as she holds Kosuke in the hands and rushed towards Haru and Alina in the distance. _

"Quite an energetic girl, indeed" _Eirian commented as he casually walks away from the field, parting ways from them as he went on a different route leading to his dormitory. _

_It was already dark as Eirian walks to his apartment building, the sky was littered up with stars as they light up the night sky while the neighborhood was utterly alive at that point as people can be seen walking around, having fun as the night sky consumed the vast horizon, but as Eirian continued to walk home he saw Miho Nishizumi and her group in the distance, as they were also taking the same route as he's_

_He kept a distance with the girls as he didn't want to interfere their bond on the way leading to dormitory but he was caught later by Miho. _

_Miho and her friends took a turn on the corner of a building and upon turning she saw a glimpse of Eirian in the distance as she then pauses from walking._

"Haiiro?" _Miho then asks as her friends then looks at the direction she was looking at. _

"Eirian!" _Saori then called out his name as she waves her hand, getting his attention in the distance as he eventually approaches the girls. _

"Good evening, Haiiro" _Hana then greets Eirian as he finally reaches the girls._

"Good evening also, and it seems you four are about to have a dinner together, correct?"

_Miho, Saori, and Hana gave a nod to Eirian as they were having a dinner together in Miho's room, but Eirian's attention was immediately caught unguard at of Miho's attention as she confronted him with widened eyes and an enthusiastic smile on her face._

"Brown messy hair, dark black eyes, fluid in Japanese, and a _Panzer-Stil Kommadant?! _It's actually you" _The girl with a fluffy hair started to bounce around as she felt the happiness in her veins rapidly circulates on her cheerful attitude and enthusiasm. _

"Pardon?" _Eirian was utterly confused as he looks at her. _

"Yukari, what are you talking about?" _Saori then asks as they didn't have any idea what their friend was saying earlier. _

"He's the infamous, _Black Baron_!"

"What's a _Black Baron_, Miss Yukari?" _Hana further asks while Miho was surprising calm at this. _

"Well, in terms of _Panzerkraft-tradition_, exceptional people from any form of it, can develop a form of nickname during its career, and one of them is him, the Wittmann, the _Black Baron_" _Yukari then explained it in a sense that the girls would understand while for Eirian it was a huge problem. _

"I think you're mistaking me with someone else, Yukari"

"Of course no-… Oh, I get it"

"Pardon me for mistaking you for someone else, Haiiro" _Yukari added as she winks at him, meaning that his problem was immediately settled for the time being._

"She's Yukari, Akiyama Yukari from Class II, same year as us" _Miho then introduces her. _

"You know Yukari, I admired your enthusiastic nature about _Panzerkraft,_ but please control yourself" _Eirian then remarked her actions as he went soft for her, even though he finds her an immediate threat, and a problem to his mission. _

"Hai! I won't do it that again, Sir Haiiro"

"That's good to hear" _Eirian takes a relief sigh. _

"Anyhow, care to join us later? Since we are neighbors and all" _Miho offers him to join them at their dinner later tonight. _

"Sure" _Eirian nods as he didn't waste any time, an infiltration on the enemy territory is what he needs, and thus he won't allow this opportunity to let slide away and immediately takes her offer. _

"Really? That's great!" _Miho then smiles in return. _

"Then let's check if the magazine is true once and for all" _Saori mumbled as she was beaming with hope in her eyes. _

"What magazine are you talking about exactly, Saori?" _Hana asks as all of them were now starting to walk towards the dormitory of Eirian and Miho. _

"You will see" _Saori then flashes out a smirked to her friend as she showed her a magazine about the _"facts" _of making a man fall in love with cooking. _

"It said if you cooked _Nikujaga, _you could make any man fall in love with you" _Saori said with hope on maybe today, she could have a boyfriend now, but Yukari then crashes her dream with a single question. _

"But isn't that only myths?"

"That isn't true!"

_Eventually the five of them were now at the front door of Miho's room, Eirian was at first anxious to see what lies behind the door of Miho Nishizumi, maybe her room is filled with propaganda posters, or maybe a remainder to them that she's still a Kuromorimine hiding in plain sight. _

_But as the door was opened, his eyes couldn't believe at what they saw on her room as it was just a bunch of stuffed animals, mainly Boko. Boko is a beaten up stuffed toy, very popular to kids and adults in Japan. _

"It seems normal…" _Eirian remarked at the room he was in, it was like his but more girlish in his own words as the whole room was littered with Stuffed toys, and a lot of color pink, from the bed towards the carpet of the room. _

"It's cute, this room really suited you"_ Hana then added. _

_As Miho pick up a magazine from her bed Eirian went ahead at the Chabudai (Small wooden table) and sat on a Zabuton (A comfy floor cushion) and fairly made himself at home while the girls around him continued to do their business; Saori looking at the cute collections, Hana complimenting about the room, Yukari putting her backpack on the side in order the get some things, and Miho picking up her mess._

"This room kinda reminds me of someone…"_ Eirian then remembers something from his past as he continues to look around as he was still sitting on the Zabuton._

"Alright everyone! How about we get started?" _Saori announced to them as they're about to start dinner._

"Hana, can you peel the potatoes for me?" _Saori then favored Hana to peel off some potatoes as she gave her a pack of potatoes which Hana accepted her favor and went to the kitchen. _

"Oh. I'll cook the rice!" _Yukari added as soon Hana went to kitchen in order to peel some potatoes, she then pulls out her camping cooking utensils from her backpack_.

"Why are you using camping gear?" _Saori then ask as she remark at Yukari's odd gear. _

"Yeah, that way I can camp anywhere, anytime" _Yukari explained as she puts down the rice cooker on the floor. _

"Practicality over comfortability" _Eirian remarked as he tries to help Yukari from placing down their plates on the Chabudai. _

_"Ouch" Hana gasped out in pan for a sudden second as she cut herself by accident. "Sorry. I've only cut flowers before" Hana then explained as she has no experience of cutting other things, other than flowers._

_This cause Miho to move on a quick haste as she looks for the bandages that she didn't remember at where she put it, this cause her to be clumsier than usual as she looks around the room before tripping herself off while Hana suck her bleeding finger while at it. _

"Everybody's surprisingly useless"_ Saori mumbled herself as she saw Miho tripping herself by accident. Eirian meanwhile took the responsibility as aided not only Miho but also Hana as well out of kindness. _

_Eventually Saori took the rest and cook the dinner by herself while wearing her red glasses that even made Eirian to compliment her by using that the glasses made her more ladylike and this of course cause her to be flustered. After that with the help if everyone in the room they completed a whole set of meal for them all. _

_Nikijuga, miso soup, Eintopf, and some white rice. The feast was a mixed of Japanase and German cuisine and culture as Eirian helped Saori made the Menu. _

"Let's eat!"_ Saori announced as the girls sat around the chabudai while Eirian sat infront Miho's desk. _

"Hai!"_ All of them responded in utter sync. They clap before saying "Itadakimasu!" a polite phrase meaning "I receive this food" which thanks to whoever worked to prepare the food in the meal. _

_They all started to eat, every one of them enjoyed the feast as they poured their efforts of creating them and this includes the work of Eirian and Saori's German cuisine, the Rouladen (A thinly sliced meat, a filling of bacon, chopped onions, pickles, mustard, and then browned and simmered in broth bruised). _

"This is quite delicious!"_ Miho cheerfully stated as she remarks the food._

"Right? Nikujaga is best for seducing a man!"_ Saori responded and for a second she immediately looks at Eirian and asks him a question about the food._

"It is good?"

"If you're talking about that article, then no… But I liked the food, it is very delicious" _He chuckled. _

"That doesn't make sense, but according to this, many tried it"

"Have you ever even seduced a man before?" _Hana then ask as they continue to eat while there still at that topic. _

"No matter what you're doing, you have to practice first" _Saori answered. _

"I think you should try to not believe in anything what you saw, Saori" _Eirian then responded._

"We have our unique preferences from one another, so maybe you should try to learn them, individually" _He added as he stops eating his dinner and confronts Saori while remaining on his chair. _

"So what's your preference then?" _Saori immediately asks, but Eirian didn't give her a hint as he stares at her for a second before flashing her a simple smile. _

"Nothing"

"That doesn't make any sense!" _She pouts. _

"Time will reveal itself, for now, enjoy the food" _He quoted as he continues to eat his dinner. _

_His attention was slowly drawn by the sound of the howling wind as the window behind him was open, causing him to look outside from the room and saw the magnificent moon that stationed at the dark horizon under the vastness of the blue ocean. _

_But on the other side of the town was a small house with a decent sized backyard, there stood a young white haired maiden as she also looks at the moon, deep in thought as her friends continues to call her attention. _

"Alina!" _Elizabeth called out her friend from the small house._

"Yes?" _Alina then turns around, seeing her friend in the process as she approaches them, slowly entering the house as she went to table. _

"You were gazing out again, you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine"

"You haven't touched your food though" _Elizabeth slowly becomes worried. _

"I'm just thinking if I can stand with that Haiiro…" _She mumbled as she became furious all of a sudden. _

_But Elizabeth takes her hand as they went outside, leaving both Haru and Kosuke as they continue to eat their dinner on the table, they reached the backyard as they can saw the ocean in the distance as they simple sat on a wooden bench. _

"Tell me, Alina, why do you hold such hatred to Haiiro?"

_Alina just sat right next to her, her head was lowered as she holds her hand tightly as she starts bringing out her history with Eirian to Elizabeth. _

"It was a tournament of _Panzerkraft_, the _**Motov-torp Tournament**_" _She slowly said as she took a pause before continuing the story. _

"Eirian was a _Panzer-Stil _Commander of _JIGA, _and he's one of the worst but effective Commanders in _Panzerkraft_" _She added. _

"Eirian Haiiro is a Wittmann, a family known for its tradition of _Panzerkraft _in Germany, and notably he's one brutal Commander that can embarrassed not only an _Ace_, but also a team full of Commanders such as myself"

"What do you mean by that?"

"He gained the nickname of _Black Baron _because of me, he took out 20 tanks out of 30 from my team…"

"After that, the team slowly dissolves away, the reason of it was my lack of leadership, not only my team but the School slowly fell apart of its popularity in Russia" _She added as Elizabeth could feel the hatred in her voice, everything was starting to make sense about the whole of not befriending Eirian so lightly or even trusts him in the first place. _

"Eirian Haiiro is nothing but a monster, a person wanting for more glory and victory to his homeplace, he didn't come here just to be friends with us, he is hiding something and I want to find it out!" _Alina then said as she looks at Elizabeth, her eyes were about to tear up as she wants revenge. _

"Alina…"

"But in order to do that, I must gain his trust first, but to do that, I need you to help me with this"

"You want me to help you find Haiiro's sinister plan?"

"Yes, and that's why I am deep in thought earlier, I want to do this alone, but it seems your tendency keeps opposing my plans" _Alina lets out a sigh. _

"But you do know people can change right?"

"I don't believe a person like him can change, after all he's a pawn"

"A pawn to who exactly?"

"It's nothing, anyhow we should get back now" _Alina then stands up as she offers her hand to Elizabeth. _

"Well, if you say so…" _Elizabeth then accepts her offer as she helped her stand up from the bench as they then went to house to continue eating with Haru and Kosuke. _

_Back to the dormitorium, the feast was already ended as Miho was waving her hand as Saori, Hana, and Yukari returned to their houses. Miho was very happy that she transferred Oarai academy as soon her friends left and she went back to her unit while smiling in full extent. _

_But as soon she opened the door of her unit Eirian was still washing the remaining dishes they left, Miho was utterly confused at why Eirian remained instead of returning to his own unit._

"Quite the friends you got there, Nishizumi" _Eirian casually said as he continues to wash the dishes. _

"I told you that I will handle this" _She then went forward to him as gives him a pout. _

"I'm only repaying my debt to you" _As he finishes washing the dishes and looks at Miho as he dries his hands off. _

"What debt are you talking about?"

_Eirian then gestures the piece of plaster on his nose. _

"Ring a bell?"

"But that was nothing, I only did that because I'm your friend"

"Right, friends…" _Eirian then flashes a smile as he started walking towards the front of the door. _

"Ahm, Eirian!" _She then calls out his attention as Eirian was about to leave from her unit. _

"Yes?"

"Do you consider me as a friend?" _She then asks as she causes Eirian to pause for a moment. _

_Eirian just looks at her at first and then gave her a pat on the head before walking away from her unit after he dropped his answer on her. _

"Of course, you silly" _Miho then slightly blushes but genuinely happy as for the first time of her time in highschool after a long years of isolation from the boys, a boy finally considers her as a friend. _

"Then can you call me Miho, tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow then, Miho" _Eirian then responded as he closed the door of her unit, smiling to her before closing the wooden white door behind him. _

_Eirian then went to his room, upon closing the door behind him, he lets out a sigh of exhaustion as he rests for the night after a long day. _

_Morning was above the horizon as the sight of Elizabeth caught the eyes of Eirian upon walking towards to Oarai Academy. _

_Her short blonde ponytail swayed across the wind as she surprises Eirian but giving him a violent friendly gesture on his back as she gave him a pat on the back while flashing out her cheerful and warm smile at Eirian. _

"Morning!" _She cheerfully greeted him under the sunny sun. _

"Morning, but was that even necessary?" _Eirian then greets back as he tries to check if his back was still working, and luckily it was still in good condition as they start walking together. _

"It was bummer that you didn't made it, such a shame really"

"Sounded like I missed a very important day huh?"

"Because it is! You mister missed our first celebration"_ She then stops from walking as she confronts him, pointing her finger at him as she causes him to be startled at her. _

"Celebration about what exactly?"

"About us! Being a team of 5"

"Got it" _He then continues to walk. _

"But particularly, Alina wanted to say something to you though…" _She mumbled. _

"Strange, but why?" _As he became curious. _

"You will know it, eventually" _She then winks at him while giggling, causing Eirian to feel uneasy by the time that they will meet Alina von Pavlov. _

_And speak for the devil, they saw Alina hanging around just near the gate of Oarai Academy as she wore her iconic red scarf and her fierce, scary eyes. _

"It's her!" _Elizabeth then ran towards Alina, causing Eirian to feel anxious for a moment as he finally reaches the two. _

"Hey, Alina… morning" _Eirian then tries to be friendly with her as he was the first one to make a move, but for Alina she was at first hesitant to do the same but with the help of nudges from Elizabeth she then greets out her worst enemy. _

"Mo-mo-mor-ning also…" _She said as she keeps avoiding eye contacts on him. _

"Okay but why with the attitude actually?" _Eirian then asks as he was very confused. _

"Listen to this, Eirian… I'm trying to be friendly to you because we're allies on the same team, don't think this a friendly gesture as friends…" _She then dropped her cold attitude to him as she starts entering Oarai Academy, leaving Eirian and Elizabeth behind. _

"Geez… that was very cold" _Elizabeth remarks her actions earlier while Eirian was still speechless. _

"Well, that's a _Tsun-dere _to you" _Kosuke then added as she caught both the attention of Eirian and Elizabeth. _

"Oh, it's you Kosuke, morning" _Elizabeth was the first to greet her and Eirian fallowed next. _

"A lovely morning to you two, and what we have here, the cold one is starting becoming friendly to you" _She then looks at Eirian, teasing him as she flashes out a smirk. _

"What does that mean?" _As Eirian felt uneasy. _

"Time is the answer" _She quoted as she became a cryptic person as she enters the Academy, later Eirian and Elizabeth fallowed her. _

_After hours of classes Eirian, Haru, Kousaka, Alina, and Kosuke arrived at warehouse while the sun was bright and sunny on a noon friday. At first they thought they were the first to arrive at the warehouse but it would seem that the group was the last one to arrive as the others were already there and just simply waiting them and their club adviser, which it was pretty late. _

"You're late!"_ Momo said to the group as she gave them an intense and angry stare, holding her clipboard as her feet rapidly stamps on the ground, signaling that she's very angry. _

_"_Now, now Momo it's our first day here so how about you calm a little"_ Anzu said to her PR manager as she continues to chew her sweet dried patatoes. _

_Momo sighs in disappointment as Yuzu touch her shoulder, signalling her to calm down. _"Just tell them let be"_ Yuzu said with a calm voice. _

"Fine..."_ She replied to her as Anzu takes up the front and confronted all the members of the newly revived Oarai Sensha-do club. _

"Well listen up everyone! due for a strange circumstances our Intructor will arrive at excatly... now!"_ Anzu raised her open arm as she gestured at the approaching twin-engined military transport aircraft called the C-1 as it drops a modern tank in the garage, before the plane slowly disappear through the clouds. _

_The modern tank landed on the ground with great vigor as it drifts towards the parked vehicles on the parking lot, crushing a red Ferrari F40 upon the tank slowly steady itself from the airdrop. _

"Isn't that the Headmaster's car?!"_ Yuzu remarked as she gives a horror impression at the crushed F40. _

"Now they've done it"_ Anzu added. _

_The modern tank I.E a Type 10 Mitsubishi MBT slowly drives up towards the band of awed students as it finished its grand entrance. _

_The hatch of the Type 10 opened as the tank shut itself, and three people emerged from it. One is wearing an Oarai uniform, one wears a green JGSDF (Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces) uniform, and the other one wears a light-gray uniform of the Bundeswehr (German Federal Defence). _

_She took out her helmet as she then greets the students of Oarai. _

"Hi, there" _She said in enthusiasm as she slowly departs from the hatch, and soon after two personnel also descends from the hatch as well. _

_Short hair, light blue eyes, wearing a green uniform, rank; Captain class. She was their instructor and advisor of Oarai Senshadou as she went at the front of the students, facing them with a smile. _

"She's the special instructor for the _Senshadou_ training unit, Captain Chouno Ami" _Momo introduces them their advisor._

"Nice to meet you all, I heard there were a lot of people here who are doing _Senshadou _for the first time, but let's do the best we can" _Ami said as she looks at her apprentices and eventually caught on an eye on Miho Nishizumi. _

"Wait? Aren't you the daughter of Instructor Nishizumi?" _She then asks to Miho as she approaches the young girl who was very surprised. _

"She has done a lot for me" _She added as she flashes a smile. _

"Is your sister doing well?"

"Hai…" _Miho couldn't look at her straightly as she lowers her head in response._

"Instructor Nishizumi?" _One of the freshmen asks as they were all chattering and very confused if who is this Instructor is. _

"For those who don't know, the Nishizumi School is the _Senshadou _school with the longest history" _Ami explains as she went back to her place. _

"But I think that's enough introduction for today, _Herr _Gunther would you like to introduce yourself?" _Ami then asks to the quiet young man behind her, blackish hair with brown eyes as he switched places with Ami._

"I'm Gunther Fujimura, I am the assistant Advisor and right hand man ofmiss Chouno"

"He's quite cute" _Saori then commented as her eyes were attracted to him. _

_Gunther also looks around to his apprentices and then saw Eirian in the distance. _

_Eirian just nods at their assistant Advisor as they known each other, but Gunther didn't him and instead continues to introduce himself to his apprentices. _

"I came from Germany. I'm a former _Panzer-Stil Kommdant, _and now I'm an instructor of the _Senshadou_ training unit along with your Advisor" _He added. _

"That's good for today, _Herr _Gunther" _She then switches places with him as Gunther went to back in order to have a talk to a young new student of Oarai. _

"Is there any question in regards of _Senshadou_?"_ She then opens up and immediately Saori raises her hand. _

"Are you really popular with the guys?"

_Miho just turns around and saw her friend, causing her to lose the feeling of uneasiness and just smiles at her friend who was wanting to be famous in order to get a boyfriend. _

"Huh? Not so much popular, so much as I always hit the target I aim for" _She answered, before Gunther also added something related to her answer. _

"She got a kill ratio of 120%"

_The girls were amazed at Ami's feat, all of them were aweing at their young advisor and soon Yukari also asks a question to their Instructor. _

"What will we practice today?"

"Let us see…" _She took a pause for a moment as she looks at Gunther, giving her an idea as they nod at sync as she finally gave her answer to Yukari afterwards. _

"How about we throw you guys into things and try a real mock battle?"

_Everyone of them except Miho, Alina, and Eirian acted surprise for Ami's decision as she throws them into immediate real battle since almost all of them didn't have the basics of fielding the tank, let alone driving one. _

"Are you sure we can do that so soon?" _Yuzu asks as she wasn't sure if whether Ami's decision was the best for them. _

"It will be fine" _Gunther then takes her question while flashing a warm smile of confidence to all of them. _

"Experiences is the best teacher after all" _Ami then quoted from the great Roman leader, Julius Caesar as they tried to give them a boost of confidence. _

"You just gotta move the tank, point it where you want it to go, and shoot" _She then added which causes Gunther to comment at her instructing skills. _

"That's not really gonna help the beginners here, but like she said, Experiences is the best teacher, so just explore" _Gunther then takes turn as he slightly tries to help them. _

"Anyway, all of you head to your respective starting points" _Gunther then pulls out a map and opened it, it was a geographical map, depicting the forest like area that was near to their location with embedded small circular markings across the map. _

"Each of you all have one of this already on your tanks, so good luck everyone" _Gunther then went to gate and slowly opens it, causing them to approach at their respective tanks._

_The freshmen were still clueless about how to steer their M3 Lee tank, the Volleyball team were determined to bring back their club after it was disbanded a while ago, the Reki-jo team (Historian buffs) were tackling about how to use their Stug III as they suggested to use a Pinwheel formation and even a Panzerkiel formation, while Miho and Eirian's team didn't cause any issue in regards of employing their Panzers._

_Soon their attention was caught by Ami as she instructs him to enter their tanks. _

"And remember, each team needs to figure out what tasks they're going to handle"

"Three-person teams will have a tank commander, a gun operator, and a driver"

"Four-person teams will also have a loader, and as for five-person team, one will be radio operator"

"Alright we all know what are the roles, the question is… what roles are we assigned for?" _Haru asks to them as they stood on top of their Panzer III. _

"One is the communicator, a driver, a loader, a gun operator, and a commander" _Elizabeth then said as she counts their roles. _

"How about we try drawing straws?" _Kosuke then suggested as she caught their team's attention to her, which all of them gave the typical calm girl a nod of agreement. _

_After a short game of drawing straws, the gang has finally decided of who the roles should be for all of them. Eirian was the loader, Elizabeth was the gun operator, Kosuke was the communicator, Alina was the driver, and Haru is the Commander of their crew and tank._

_With the problem out of mind, all of them went to their locations on the rather close-spaced interior of the tank as Haru was the last one to enter as he sat below the Commander's hatch, while Eirian was the only one standing from all of them. _

"Alina, do you know how to move a tank?" _Elizabeth then asks as she looks at Alina from her seat. _

"da" _Alina then turns on the engine after she responded to Elizabeth's question with a Russian accent. _

"So where do we go exactly?" _Haru then asks as he was clueless about where should they go. _

"I think we should go this way?" _Elizabeth then said as she was the one holding the map, using the coordinates from the map as the Tank was starting to roar back to life before starting to move and went on ahead to their starting location. _

"That's awesome!" _Haru commented as the Panzer III was already moving, going towards the densely forest with in full strength._

"You don't know? Alina here is once a _Put' Tankov _Commander" _Elizabeth then said. _

"Yeah, I know that already" _Haru chuckled. _

"From who?" _Alina was immediately curious while she was controlling the control sticks. _

"From the President"

"The Council has a lot of info brokers to be exact, and that's why they know your history about _Panzerkraft_" _Kosuke then said as she was sitting still on her seat. _

"Remind me to never make the Council mad at me" _Haru then giggled. _

"Will do" _Eirian answered before opening the hatch from his side, offering his head as he can clearly see the world around him. _

_Trees, bushes, branches, all of them were blocking the view of both Eirian and Haru as they maintain an eye of the surroundings as they opened their hatches, immediate they feel the wind blowing through their faces as they find calmness for a while but shortly after that, they eventually took a stop, in the middle of the forest. _

"We arrived at our destinations" _Elizabeth announced with a cheerful attitude. _

"Elizabeth can you open that radio and relay a message to our Instructors that we finally arrived at our location?" _Eirian then said as he closed the hatch. _

"Sure can" _Elizabeth then grabs the radio and opened a channel by turning one of modes of the radio set until she picks up a channel. _

"Hello, we have already reach our starting location" _Elizabeth said as Gunther was the one who picked up the signal as he, and Ami was on top of a tower that overlooks the area on the map. _

"Affirmative, just stay at there for a while" _Gunther said before he announced to Ami that they were to first to arrive. _

"Team B is already on their location"

_Soon, each team finally went to their starting position also after a short brief of silence on the radio, now all of them (Team A-F) were already on stand-by and just waiting orders from their instructor. _

_Ami takes the radio and informs them their goal to win the match. _

"Alright everyone, your goal is to immobilize the others' tank"

"In other words, go forth, spot them, and take them out"

"With that out of mind, _Senshadou _starts with a bow, and ends with a bow"

"All participants, bow"

_Through the open channel their voices can be hear in sync, they all bow in one direction and gave everyone a _"Good match" _before the mock battle finally begins. _

"Time to start the match, good luck everyone" _Those were the last words of Ami before the channel turned into static noises, causing Elizabeth to turn off the radio and looks at their Commander, Haru. _

"Alright everyone, let us give our best shot, everyone! March forward!"

_The sound of the engine was stirring up again, the threads were about to roll out, the shell was finally loaded, and this marks a new beginning to them, a complete team, a new battle, it is Oarai's first mock battle!_

* * *

**That was long, but I hope you guys enjoy it, and always remember "Panzer vor means Panzer vor!"**


	6. Chapter 6 - Our First Match!

Chapter 6: "Our first Match!"

_Back in Rommel's office, Rommel was having a small talk with someone, intrigued as he shows his smirk at the person infront of his desk. _

"Interesting… but is there any evidence that shows she's not an agent of Kuro?"

"Think about it rationally, your quite smart about this"

"Well, of course I have my doubts on her, but it's not easy to pull him out from his mission"

"Then why even picked him in the first place?"

"I have something in mind for him"

"So are you going to pull the strings again?"

_Rommel just smirks as he gave a nod at the person infront of him._

* * *

_Back in the forest, Eirian's Panzer III was moving through the narrow dirt path, threads violently crushed every pieces of obstacles that blocks their way, the Maybach Engine of it screams across the trees, loudly and violently. _

"Haru, orders?" _Eirian looks at his Commander as he opens his Loader's hatch. _

"I got no clue about who should we get first" _Haru embarrassingly said as he looks back at his loader. _

"Right…" _Eirian then went inside as he called out Elizabeth's attention. _

"Elizabeth, can I have the map?"

"Sure do"

_Eirian then takes out the map, and tries to consult on it while Haru was observing his surrounding in a heads up position. _

"So do you know where we are?" _Kosuke asks as she took a peek on the map. _

"Near the starting location of team F"

"Should we try to ambush them on the way?" _Elizabeth then asks to him. _

"Its speed is quite slow, and it has a 37mm gun on its turret" _Alina then said as she gave Haru an idea as he was listening to them earlier. _

"Haru, your orders?" _Eirian then looks at him as he gave him the map. _

"If what Alina said is true, then we should try to assault Team F then…" _He responded before all of them gave their commander a nod. _

"Will do" _Alina then flashes a smirk as she starts to pedal to the metal. _

_Eirian then casually loaded a PzGr. ammunition on the gun breech, but while he was loading the shell, Kosuke was worried about something. _

"Aren't those live ammunitions?"

"These ammunitions are modified versions that emphasizes safety and are modern to their counterparts" _He explained to her briefly as he shuts the gun breech. _

"They shared the same attributes like their counterparts, they still have the gunpowder, and even the capacity of penetrating an armor, but the _Council_ recreated these ammunitions in order to be safe in these kind of matches" _He added. _

"That explains everything…"

"We found an enemy!" _Haru shouted to his crew, causing Eirian to look outside via his hatch. _

_In the distance they saw a weird shaped tank, it has 2 massive guns, one is in the turret, and the other is in the hull of the tank, it was Team F's Medium Tank M3, also known as simply as Lee._

"We saw it!" _Alina said as she immediately stops the tank. _

"Kosuke!" _Eirian shouted. _

"On it!" _She then scopes her target, rolling the small metal valve wheel as the turret slowly yet surely points on its target. _

_Her eyes adjusted through the reticle of the scope, her hands were shaking at first as she was anxious to fire the loud cannon right next to her. The crosshair was directly on the rear on its target. _

"She's on my target!" _Kosuke announced. _

"Fire!" _Eirian then ordered to her to fire. _

_Kosuke then put her strength on pulling the trigger, and soon after a loud bang of smoke appeared on the muzzle of the 5cm Kwk39. _

_The shell lunched in adrenaline as it flies through the air with such speed, it lunched itself towards the rear of the Lee, it was hit as the sound of explosion shouted in the distance, smoke appeared and dust covered the visors of Haru before he opened his hatch in order to see things through, the wind then blows the darkened smoke and saw the M3 Lee, its 37mm gun was pointing directly at them and soon after that, they started to return fire at the Panzer III. _

"It was clearly a hit! But it's still moving!" _Haru said in surprise as the Panzer III was moving again. _

"It did, but the shot was too low for it to immobilize the tank" _Eirian responded as he closes his hatch. _

"Alina, wiggle it!" _Eirian then tries to order around the crew. _

"You don't have to tell me that…" _Alina then fallows his order as she started to shift their tank, wiggling it as the shells of the Lee were either a missed or a couple of ricochets as it was facing its front hull towards them. _

"This is bad; two guns are pointing directly at us!" _Elizabeth then said out of nervous as they were about to taken out. _

"I can handle it; I'm not missing another shot to them!" _Kosuke then said out of confidence as she finally managed to handle the scope in a right form. _

"Let's see if you got the skills" _Alina chuckled as she waits for the right moment to stop the tank and take the shot._

_Now they waited for who will fire the first shot as they were closing the gap between them and the Lee, a luck was at their side as the Lee fired both its gun towards at Panzer, it didn't hit as they were moving as well and they the opportunity to finish their 1v1. _

"Stop!" _Eirian then ordered, the tank stopped and the long barrel emitted again a loud bang and a violent explosion, another shell was lunched from the chamber, it was violent reaction as the shell landed on front of the hull, it didn't ricochet as it hits front, instead it fully went through the tank and hits the rear engine, causing the tank for fall apart from its station, it stop moving as the engine slowly died, its rear was slightly burning as a white flag emitted on the front hull, signaling that the tank was now immobilize. _

"Team F is immobilized" _Ami said through the open channel, Eirian and the others were delighted that they take out a real tank, fully crewed, but it wasn't over for them. _

"Alright guys, let's do this!" _Haru then shouted in confidence as he looks determined to win their first mock battle. _

_Meanwhile somewhere on the other side of the forest, Miho's team managed to pick up a stray, lazy student of Oarai. _

"Saori?" _The short girl asks, her hair was a waist-length black hair that her bangs covered her forehead, her eyes were dark hazel, and wears a white headband. _

"Mako?" _Saori was also clueless and surprise that she saw her friend on the middle of their match. _

"Are you two friends?" _Miho asks to Saori as she hanging outside via her loader's hatch. _

"Hai, we've known each other since we were kids" _Saori answered, unbeknownst to her and for them also that they were on the middle of a chase and soon they would greet themselves with an explosion on the rear. _

"But what are you doing here, anyway?" _Saori then further asks her short statured friend. _

"You know we're in the middle of class" _She added._

"I know" _She responded in a rather dead, emotionless tone. _

_Saori just lets out a disappointing sigh to her Mako friend, but soon after that they were greeted back into reality again as a shell from the rear exploded on the ground, causing a slight ruckus on the ground as well as smoke and dust as the shockwave startled Saori, Mako, and Miho. _

"It's dangerous, so get in" _Miho said out of worriedness to Mako as she and Saori entered the vehicle, in which Mako fallowed as she entered the hatch of the Gun Operator. _

_After a while of silence, Mako was the first to break it as she rests between the legs of the Gun Operator, Yukari Akiyama._

"There's not much oxygen in here…" _Mako complained as she was ready to pass out, resting her head on Yukari's lap while the girls are worried to her condition. _

"Are you okay?!" _Yukari immediately asks out of worriedness. _

"Mako has low blood pressure" _Saori explained. _

"But she didn't seem to be doing very well this morning, either" _Miho added as flashes a faint smile on Mako. _

"Huh? You met her?" _Saori further asks. _

"Hai…"

"So what's why you're late" _Saori just smirks at her friend as she probably thinking something else. _

_Another round landed near their tank, it exploded upon impact and causes the Tank to rock violently due to its shockwave, all of them were in shock and surprise as Saori couldn't handle the pressure anymore as she complains about it. _

"I've had enough! What should we do?!" _She acts irrationally as she covered her ears, while Miho tries to open her hatch and took a peek on her surroundings. _

_As soon she opens her tank, she then saw a red bridge on the distance, this causes her to order Hana to stop the tank in which the Panzer IV took a stop right in front of the bridge. _

_Miho then descends from her hatch as she took a closer observation on the bridge in front of them. _

"It's too dangerous out here" _Yukari then reminded Miho that someone was tailing them since the beginning. _

"We've probably got time until the next round, so I'm fine!" _Miho shouted back as she went on the center of the bridge, inspecting it. _

_Upon inspecting the bridge, she then turns her head to her crew before she ordered them to move the tank in a slow manner. _

"Advance slowly" _She shouted. _

_It was a slow action, Miho guided her crew as the Panzer IV was moving towards the bridge, it has space, not a lot as it was narrow, and the wind was blowing against their favor and soon an accident was about to strike. _

_Its threads snap the metal cable that supports the ancient bridge, a violent sound of snapping causing the Panzer to accidently move forward and almost cause a big accident as it was going to the river underneath the bridge. _

_The girls screamed out of terror while Miho was shocked, it was few inches away before an accident could ever happen, but before it could happen, out of luck someone took a shot to its rear._

_A low profiled destroyer, hiding on the bushes behind the Panzer, fired its long 7,5cm Stuk 40 gun on Miho's tank, the shot was landed and it helped the girls from endangering themselves into inevitable accident, it hits on the left most part of the rear, causing it to lift into the air and landed perfectly on the platform safely. _

_It's either they're unlucky, or they did it on purpose, but it was still a miracle that Miho's crew survived from that shot. _

"Hana, are you okay?!" _Saori then shouted as she called the attention of their driver, as she was unconsciousness after hitting herself on the side of her hatch, causing her to fall unconsciousness after they landed on the platform safely. _

"Our driver is out!" _Yukari shouted to Miho as she rushes them, helping the crew as she immediately entered the tank. _

"We're dead in the water!" _She added as Miho was entered the tank. _

"I came, I saw, I shot" _One of the crew of the __Sturmgeschütz III, also known as the Assault Gun or simply the StuG said in confidence. _

_The crew of the Assault Gun was the Reki-jo (Or Historian Buffs), and its Gunner was a young girl, long red brown hair, a pair of dark brown eyes, wearing a headband with the emblem of the Sanada clan, and right to her was the Commander of their team. _

"Nice work, Saemonza" _Her Commander said in response of them hitting its target, and she was also wearing a 'bizarre' clothing as well; covering her shot blonde hair that maybe looks like a fox, was a German Field Marshal's cap modeled on a famous German Commander, Erwin Rommel, and also wearing an identical Afrika Korps General's jacket as to the one that Erwin Rommel wore in North Africa during his campaign there._

"We took out their Driver also" _Saemonza added to her captain as they waited for their allies to come to their aid. _

_And in fact they did wait the other team to regroup and it was the Volleyball team who arrived next to them with their Japanese Type 89 I-Go._

"We're ready!" _The Commander of the Type 89 said as she pops her head out from the tank. _

"Same here!" _Erwin, their Commander of the StuG III responded as she also pokes her head out from the tank, and both of them entered their tanks again before starting to close the gap between them and Miho's Panzer IV. _

"They're closing the gap, Miss Nishizumi" _Yukari then reminded her idol as she saw them as she took a quick peek from her hatch._

_Miho then puts Hana on the seat of the Radio Operator as she then took a sigh of disbelief, Mako was already awake and saw the vacant seat in front of her. _

"I'm bad at driving, but I've got to do it…" _Miho then comments about her duties as she took the responsibility of their new driver now, but someone was already on that case. _

_The tank starts to move violently, its threads were reserving rapidly, and soon before they know it, the tank managed to walk away from danger. _

_The person who pilots the tank was none other than the strayed, lazy person they picked up earlier, Mako. _

"Mako! You can drive?!" _Saori quickly asks in disbelief while Miho just gazes at their driver as she was surprise, happy, disbelief, and felt amaze from her skill of controlling the tank. _

"I just learned how to now…" _Mako responded in an emotionless tone again as she was reading the manual, PzIV fibel. _

"_Nani?! _(What)" _Yukari was speechless. _

"There's a reason she's top of the class!" _Saori then said out of excitement, flashing a smile of being grateful that they have a talented girl like Mako on their team during these intense situations. _

"Their Panzer is about to leave, shoot them!" _Erwin then commanded her crew as she scopes them via the visor that she uses, but it was problematic for their loader to immediately load up the ammunitions since it was very heavy._

"We should help them! Attack!" _The Commander of the Type 89 then ordered full confidence as they tried to help them also, by firing their mounted machine gun towards an armor vehicle. _

"You know; we're reversing, right?" _Saori immediately reminded Mako that they started to reverse the tank instead of going forward._

"I know" _Mako responded, still dead on her emotions as they continue to move backwards, but unbeknownst to Saori's attention, a tank was coming directly to them in the distance._

_A small light armed tank, the Panzer 38(t), commanded none other but the Student Council President, Anzu Kadotani as they marched towards the front entrance of the bridge, cutting the escape of Miho's Panzer IV as both sides were now flanked by the enemy as the three of them joined forces. _

_But that didn't stop Mako as she then starts to turn the pedal into the metal, accelerating the tank out from the bridge and into the greenish land, avoiding that near-close encounter shot from both the Type 89 and the StuG III_

_Both the Commanders of the Type 89 and the StuG III then reacted to their missed shots and immediately ordered their inexperienced crew to haste the process of loading the gun chamber up. _

_Meanwhile as Hana was resting quietly on her position on the Radio Operator, a loud bang causes her to wake up from her slumber._

"Eek!" _She lets out a cute yelp in her wake as she was alarmed from the explosion that caught her attention, leaving her awake and active. _

"Are you okay?" _Miho asks in return as she catches Hana's attention. _

"Yeah… Sorry"

"It's okay, rest for a little" _Miho shakes her head as she tries to be kind to her friend. _

"No, I'm fine" _Hana responded, causing Miho to flash a faint smile as she feels lighted that Hana was okay. _

"Alright, Akiyama, rotate our turret" She then turn her face towards their gun operator, ordering her afterwards as she became serious.

"Roger that" _Yukari then flashes an enthusiastic smile to Miho as she uses its optics, rotating the metal valve as she was now rotating the steel-hardened, darkgrey turret of their Panzer IV. _

_The Turret slowly begun its slow turret transverse, causing a nerve-wrecking feeling to the crew of the StuG III and the type 89, causing them also to point their front hull towards the German Tank. _

"Hurry up and turn it!" _Saori shouted, nervous and the feeling of uneasiness starts to kick it as both turrets of their enemies slowly pointed their guns at them. _

"Shoot them before they shoot us!" _She added as she shouts directly behind Yukari. _

"Right!" _Yukari responded as she was done rotating the turret. _

"Prepare to fire!" _Miho then said as she watches the chaotic transition of the crew of her tank as Mako stops the tank from moving, Yukari excitedly waits for the trigger, Saori was still genuinely feels uneasy, and Hana stays quiet on her seat. _

_It was an intense silence, Yukari was holding the trigger, the silent wind sways the bridge and everything that surrounds it, and then Miho dropped the silence as she finally gave the command to Yukari to fire their main gun. _

"Fire!"

_Yukari pulled the trigger, an explosion soon arises on the muzzle of their short barrel Howitzer gun, sparks of fire and a trail of dust, velocity, and its shell soon fallowed, lunging itself towards the StuG III as the tracer can be seen in a mile distance._

_The Shell then landed perfectly on the sights of Yukari, the sound of explosion, the dust, smoke, and the sparks of few bits of fire started to pop out from the shell that landed on the hull of the StuG III, it was an adrenaline moment for the girls, not just for Miho but everyone in the area. _

_A white flag then pops up from the Commander's hatch of the StuG III, marking it immobilized. _

_The girls of Miho's crew were still in awe, as for Miho, she reloads the next ammunition on the gun breech as the cartridge falls on the bottom of the turret's floor. _

"Wow…" _Saori commented in awe. _

"My ears are ringing…" _Yukari then added as it was the first time of her firing a real live ammunition on a tank. _

That felt kind of good…" _Hana also added, in excitement and felt genuinely satisfied as her ears were ringing after that loud bang that they created and heard earlier. _

"That was a hit" _Gunther declared as he was observing them via his binoculars from the tower. _

"Indeed, and they performed excellently well also" _Ami then added as she then opens her radio, but Gunther stops her since they were about to see the climax of the battle. _

_Back in the forest, Miho then opens the hatch on top of her, letting the bright light from the sun to roam around the place. _

"We're taking out the Type 89 next" _Miho said to her peers as they found their target next. _

"Right!" _Yukari replied with a smile on her face, looking through the optics again as she rotates the tank, facing towards the last enemy from the rear. _

"They're coming!" _The Commander of the Type 89 said to her crew, notably their gun Operator. _

"Formation B!" _She ordered, causing their Gun Operator to fire their 57mm Type 90 but with no effect as it misses on hitting Miho's Panzer._

_The turret then stops from moving, a few seconds of silence ensues before a shell was again fired from the tank, its shell immediately landed on the front of the Type 89, causing itself to lift on the ground for few meters before dropping violently on the ground, smoke and dust appeared soon and a white flag also pops up from the smoke. _

_What only remains were the Panzer 38(T) of the Student Council, but it didn't back down and instead, marches forward towards the Panzer IV._

_Outgunned, outmanned, and out-armored, they still recklessly rolled their threads towards the more superior tank while firing their small 37mm Kwk gun. _

"More are coming!" _Saori then called out the attention of Miho and Yukari as she observes the enemy via the guard visors that stationed around the opening of her hatch._

_The Turret rotates again, this time facing the approaching reckless light tank of the Student Council. _

"You know Momo, we're clearly inferior here…" _Kojiro casually reminded their Gun Operator as he sat on the back. _

"This is where you die!" _Momo didn't fallow what Kojiro has said to her as she was being too aggressive and hysterical to her extreme greed of winning the mock battle, and this is the downfall of them as she didn't know that someone was already pointing their gun towards the rear of her tank. _

_Haru's Panzer came into the area and found the exposed Panzer 38, this gives an opportunity to Kosuke to tests her accuracy again. _

"Kosuke, would you mind?" _Eirian looks at their talented Gunner, Kosuke just smiles in return as she looks over the optics, rotating its turret and pointed the gun towards the Panzer 38(T) and before the Student Council even realize, they were already immobilized as the shell from Haru's Panzer landed on the rear end of the tank._

_It slightly rocks the Panzer 38(T) but in a violent way as it lands on the opposite side, now facing towards the Panzer III as smoke, a burning engine, and a white flag pops from the Panzer 38. _

"Who fired that?" _Saori asks, causing Miho to open her hatch in order to get a clear view on what's in front of them, and eventually she saw a silhouette in the bushes. _

"It's Eirian's team" _Miho then closed her hatch as she said it to her peers. _

"That was nice, Kosuke" _Elizabeth then complimented her friend as they saw the immobilized Panzer 38(T)_

"Wait, if team C leading to F were out, then it means our enemies are…" _Haru then said as he was immediately cut off by the sound of a shell ricocheting the top turret of their tank. _

"Our last opponent, team A!" _Alina shouted as she wiggles the tank, dodging or ricocheting the shots from Miho's tank. _

"Our chances would be slim around here, Alina, take us somewhere into the forest!" _Eirian then ordered._

"Roger that!" _Alina then switches the switch gear, controlling the tank immediately as they quickly depart from that open area. _

"Fallow them!" _Saori then ordered to her crew, causing Mako to chase Eirian's tank quickly into the inner most part of the forest. _

"They say this _Panzer III _were used during Operation _Fall Gelb_" _Alina then smirks as she gave a look to Eirian as she probably knew what their next actions are. _

_Eirian just gave a nod to Alina, setting aside Alina's hatred and guilt towards Eirian as she then fallows his orders very straightforwardly. _

"We're gonna punch them through the side, Alina!"

"On it!"

_Their Tank entered the densely part of the forest, causing confusion for Miho's team as they took a stop on the open dirt pathway. _

"They're using the forest as cover!" _Yukari said as she was impressed. _

"Should we chase them?" _Hana then asks to Miho as she was wondering at why they stopped in the open. _

"No, and Saori, can we switch places?" _Miho then responded as she has an idea as she switches places with her. _

"Akiyama, I want you to fallow my orders only" _Miho then ordered their Gunner to be more extra attentive to what she was about to say. _

"Hai!"

"Mako, can you turn off the engine but turn it on, but try to make the engine quieter, please?"

"You got it"

"What are you doing, Miho?" _Saori then asks as she was curious about Miho's actions. _

"You will found it out later, Saori" _Miho just flashes a smile at her friend, before poking her head outside the turret in order to practice her skills during her middle school years. _

_Miho just listened through the trees of the forest, she was very quiet, the wind blows her face as the breeze swayed her auburn hair, and not a moment after that, she heard an engine in the distance. _

"Akiyama! Point your turret towards 6'o clock at our position!" _Miho opened her eyes as she gave the order to Yukari. _

"Hai!" _Yukari then rotates the metal valve, causing the turret to turn towards 6'o clock from their position and they immediately saw Haru's Panzer, circling around them. _

"Fire!" _Miho then ordered, causing Yukari to pulled the trigger, letting out a tracer into the darkened forest, it didn't hit its target as Haru's Panzer was approaching them fast. _

_Miho then went to Saori's place and loaded the next shell, Yukari meanwhile was locking its barrel towards the approaching Panzer and with a shout from Miho, she fired their armament. _

"Fire!" _Miho shouted through the intense air, causing Yukari to pull the trigger and fired a round towards Haru's Panzer, it was the same time as Kosuke pulled the trigger also. _

_Both the Panzer's of Miho and Eirian fired their armament to one another, two explosions happened as the two shells were landed, in the distance meanwhile Ami and Gunther saw the smoke in the forest, it was large and visible but they didn't know if who was the winner for the match. _

_Both engines died, their white flags pop into the open, threads were detached, fire was burning, and both of them were immobilized as soon the smoke disappeared. _

"Team A and B are out!" _Ami said through the open channel, it was a tie for both Team A and B as Elizabeth heard it through her radio. _

_Elizabeth just lets out an exhausted sigh, Alina just rests on her seat, Kosuke was resting on her station, and Haru was accompanying Eirian as they descend from the Tank, making their way towards the crew of the Panzer IV as they were still inside of the tank. _

_Eirian opened the Commander's hatch and saw the girls in safe condition. _

"That was quite a battle" _He flashes a smile as he offers help to the girls. _

"It's a draw?" _Rommel asks through the phone as he was very intrigued for the news. _

"Ja, and both Haiiro and Nishizumi's performance is very well" _Gunther responded as he was alone on the tower, looking down below him as the participants gathered around their Advisor, all of them were exhausted from the match. _

"Isn't that something else…" _Rommel just smirks his way towards the portrait of him and Eirian wearing their JIGA uniform along with the rest of their colleagues as they stood in fine posture, behind them were rows and rows of Tanks. _

"Their team needs more effort at teamwork, but with that I can see them being a match with the tier dogs for the upcoming league" _Gunther said as he saw the cute interactions of Eirian's crew with Miho's crew. _

"Is that so? Hmm… well, I should contact the rests then"

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's none of your concern, but see you around, _Herr _Gunther" _Rommel cheerfully said through the line as he ended their conversation soon afterwards. _

"Honestly… what's going on with that guy" _Gunther just lets out a sigh before making his way towards the others below him._

"But if I could be honest, Eirian has change…" _He added as he saw Eirian smiling in the distance upon descending the stairs. _

"All of you did a good job! Very nice!" _Ami then gave all of participants their compliment as they saw stood in lines upon Gunther reaching Ami. _

"I couldn't ask more of you since you moved and shot so well on your first try" _She added. _

"Especially both of you, Team A and B" _Ami then looks at both teams as they stood side by side. _

_Both Team A and B were surprised since it was a draw, but all of them were happy and satisfied from the match. _

"Good job, you two" _Ami then smiles at them while Gunther just gave both the teams a thumbs up for their efforts. _

"All you need to do now is practice moving and firing every day" _Ami then announced to the participants as they training was about to start, by tomorrow that is. _

"If there's something you don't know, either send me an email or to _Herr _Gunther here"

"Everyone! Bow" _Momo then ordered all of them as they gave a respect bow towards their advisors as all of them bow to both advisors of their club. _

"Thank you!" _They said in unison as they bow. _

_Ami and Gunther gestured a salute to them in return and it was now the time that all of them are now dismissed as they ordered them to go home and take some rest. _

"I'm beat for today!" _Haru exclaimed as he stretched his arms into the open. _

"I would like to get some hot stew, since it's cold out here" _Kosuke said to Haru as Elizabeth then came up another idea._

"How about a gathering, a dinner to all of us!" _Elizabeth then suggested as she caught the attention of Eirian. _

"So since we don't have any homework for today, how about you join us, Eirian" _Elizabeth then looks at Eirian as she wanted Eirian to join their gathering. _

_Eirian was first reluctant to join them but since he received from Rommel that he should make some contact and form a somewhat connection to his 'friends' he accepts the offer with an enthusiastic smile on his face. _

"Sure"

_Elizabeth and the rest were happy that Eirian could join them, but for Alina she wanted to avoid Eirian as much she hates being mocked by people. _

"I have other plans, sadly I can't go" _Alina then bows her head as she apologies that she can't join the trip. _

"Oh, don't be like that, Alina" _Elizabeth then holds her hand, immediately she found out that Alina just wanted to avoid Eirian as she wasn't doing any effort earlier. _

"What are you doing, Liz!" _Alina then whispered as she pulls Elizabeth away from the rest. _

"You two were synchronized during that match, you even gave him an idea when we went towards the densely forest, so how about form somewhat a form of comradeship to the guy" _She tries to persuade her friend. _

"Believe me, I just wanted to avoid him at all cause…" _Alina crossed her arms as she avoids eye contact to Elizabeth. _

"And what about that statement you said to him earlier?" _As she made her remember what she said earlier to him during their interaction in front of the school earlier. _

"Being allies on the same team means putting your trust on him, and that's why you need to be friends with him, Alina" _She added as she finally persuades Alina to join them. _

"Fine! Just one evening gathering with him, and that's it!" _Alina responded as she was pouting. _

"That's the spirit! Let's go!" _Elizabeth then grabs her hand as they gather to their crew again._

"Shall we get going?" _Kosuke asks._

"Hai!" _Elizabeth enthusiastically said as she raised her hand in the air._

"Stop embarrassing yourself…" _Alina mumbled as she face-palmed herself. _

"Cheers!" _Elizabeth offered all of them to raise their glasses, the sound of 5 glasses clinking one another in the room was the best evening to her. _

"That felt so good!" _Elizabeth then remarked that juice on her glass as she took a sip from it. _

"The food is actually great" _Eirian then said to Haru as they were in Haru's restaurant._

"Oh stop it" _Haru reacted as he was embarrassed. _

"It's actually delicious, Haru" _Kosuke then said her opinion as Haru was utterly flattered from their opinions._

"You guys…" _Haru just hides his face behind Eirian's back as he was flattered and embarrassed at the same time. _

_Alina meanwhile just looks at her emptied glass, not reacting to the environment nor the mood around her as she was being emotionless in front of Eirian, eventually she stood up from her seat as she wants to get outside to catch some air._

"If you all pardon me for a moment" _She stood up, walking away through the empty restaurant as she went outside, causing every one of them to feel worry about her._

"Alina…" _Elizabeth said in sadness as the rest just looks at Alina. _

"I'll go and catch her" _Haru then stood up from his seat but someone has the same idea as he is. _

"No, Haru, I think I'm the one she needs to confront" _Eirian then stood up, taking Haru's position as negotiator. _

"Good luck, Eirian"

_Eirian then approaches the quiet girl outside Haru's tea shop, Alina was expecting someone to have a talk with her about her sudden change of mood but what she didn't expect was Eirian. _

"You were fine earlier, but what happened to you?"

"Does when a Wittmann became a noisy and minds other business type of person?" _Alina then confronts him, looking at him in the eyes as her amber eyes pierced immediately to Eirian's façade as she she knew what Eirian's true personality was. _

"So you knew about me then?" _Eirian closes the door behind him, leaning to the wall right next to door as he became intrigued to her. _

"Why wouldn't I? and besides you're quite famous back in Russia a few years prior to this"

"It's about that tournament huh? Well, I couldn't blame them for it" _Eirian just grinned in amusement. _

"But what infuriates me is the reason at why you're here?" _As she then approaches the true Eirian. _

"Me? Well, I think you already knew at who I'm looking for"

"Miho Nishizumi, former Commander of Kuromorimine Academy, an Elitist High-School for the Nishizumi's and their tradition" _Alina just looks at him, very confused as she didn't understand at why Eirian would go all the way to Japan and find a former Panzer Ace. _

"You got that right, and I'm here just to serve the truth to the _Council_"

"_Council? _You mean the _Leopold _family?"

"I know you hate me a lot, and I don't blame you, but if you let me achieve my goal at exploiting her motives, then I would return to _JIGA _without any remembrance to you nor our crew" _As he offers his hand to her. _

"Making a deal to a devil, and what makes me believe that I could trust you?"

"I'm not making a deal; I'm making a gesture to my ally on my team" _As he quoted the same thing she said to him earlier. _

"Don't get in my way, and you will find me in Germany in no time" _He added as this slowly causes Alina to accepts his handshake. _

"Fine, but I still hate you, your face, your façade, and your existence here…" _Alina just straight-out being harsh to Eirian. _

"That's Alina von Pavlov alright" _Eirian then returned to his cheerful attitude, teasing Alina as he finally opened the door behind him._

"What do you mean by that, Idiot!" _Alina then reacted as Eirian was returning to his seat, causing her to fallow him to their table again. _

_As both of them return to their seats, Alina was having another deep in thought as she saw Eirian acting again. _

"_Why on earth is he doing this, is this something to do with the __**Bet**__? What's is his motive? And why did he even join Senshadou in the first if he wants a quick and easy…_"

_Slowly Alina's thought were keep added and added until Elizabeth then forces Alina to bring back in reality as she called out her name multiple times. _

"Alina" _Elizabeth calls out her name multiple times until Alina has grasps into reality again. _

"Yes?"

"We're thinking about if whether you want to be the Commander of our crew" _Elizabeth then asks as they were all organizing their roles for their tank. _

"Pardon, but isn't Haru already the Commander of our tank?" _Alina asks in confusion. _

"I'm already the loader" _Haru replied as he was rubbing his hair. _

"Kosuke is already the Gunner since her accuracy is great, Elizabeth is the Radio Operator since she's very social to everyone, and that leaves us though…" _Eirian then explained. _

"Eirian wanted you to be our Commander, Alina" _Elizabeth then said to Alina as she took it by surprise. _

"Wait, what?!"

"You heard her right, Alina. Eirian wants you to be our Commander" _Kosuke added also. _

_Alina then pauses for a moment, she was utterly confused as it didn't even make sense, why an enemy of him is allowing her to take command, she doesn't get it all honesty. _

"Why…"

"Pardon?" _Eirian asks. _

"Why you want me to take command?"

"It's because you're a worthy leader" _Eirian then flashes a warm smile to Alina, causing her to look at Eirian, very surprised as she took a second of silence. _

"No…"

"No?"

"I don't want to be the Commander, you should take it" _She then looks at Eirian in the eyes, her amber eyes meeting with Eirian's black eyes as she saw something inside of him, it was unusual for her to say it but a spark of kindness pops. _

"You sure?"

"Oh, please, I'm more efficient at steering the tank than commanding it" _She gave Eirian a thumbs up as she finally became happy. _

"She's right though, you were awesome back there" _Haru added as they give the pressure to Eirian of being their new Commander. _

"Indeed" _Kosuke just gave a nod to him. _

"I'm with them over here" _Elizabeth just pat him on the back. _

"If you wanted to do it, just do it" _Alina then said one last time as they gave Eirian the boost to take the command. _

_With all the pressure around him, he finally has the confidence to stand up, raising his glass as he announced their team its new operators. _

"Elizabeth will be the Radio Operator, Haru will be the Loader, Kosuke will be the Gunner, Alina will be the Driver, and I, Eirian will be the Commander of our team!" _As he offers a cheers to everyone in the table, all of them happily cheered their glasses as they clinked it. _

_Their gathering is now ended as Eirian and Alina were walking on the sideway under a moonlight on the night. _

"You sure you don't want to be the Commander of our crew?" _Eirian asks as he broke the silence. _

"Nope, you were genuinely honest to yourself back there" _She then teases him. _

"What do you mean by that!" _He reacted very quickly as he was embarrassed. _

"It's nothing, but I still hate you" _She giggled. _

"You don't need to say that again…" _As he rolled his eyes. _

"But why help me?" _He further asks as he was curious about it. _

"Oh I didn't help you or anything, it was just you became something else back there, it's not a façade, but more something you been longing at…"

"What do you mean exactly by that?"

"You will find that to yourself, and this is where we depart" _As they arrived to an intersection. _

"See you tomorrow, Wittmann" _Alina then gave her goodbye to Eirian as she went to her own way, parting their ways as Eirian walks on the opposite side._

* * *

_Back in Rommel's office, Rommel was about to have a visitor in his office as he was sitting pretty behind his desk. _

"_Herr Fuhrer_, you got a visitor" _A young boy outfitted with the standard JIGA uniform called out Rommel's attention of his desk._

"Oh, they arrived pretty early, let them in, please?"

_The young boy then went outside, opening the door as two visitors came forward to meet Eirian. _

"It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business." _The visitor quoted as she took sip from her tea. _

"Mahatma Gandhi, a classic quote" _Rommel then fixes his posture as he confronts his visitors, the royal girls from St. Gloriana Girls College._

"So care to tell the reason why you call us out of the blue, Sir Rommel?" _She asks to Rommel while maintaining her respect and gracefulness to him. _

"I have a favor to you girls"

"What is it?"

"A match against Eirian Bruan Wittmann Haiiro"

* * *

**Take it as a Christmas gift to all of you guys, so have a fantastic week to you all. **

**Also I think I might need some reviews from you guys (In which I really needed for my next chapters :V ) so leave a review if you guys want it :)**

**That's about it for today's chapter so remember, Panzer vor means Panzer vor! **


	7. Chapter 7 - Practice with St Gloriana?

Chapter 7: "Practice with St. Gloriana?"

_A young lad wearing the standard uniform of JIGA is doing guard duties in front of Rommel's office, yawning as he was utterly bored, and soon he closes his eyes but the sound of the door cracking causes him to stay awake as he steadies his posture as two young maidens slowly walks away from the office. _

_One is a beautiful blonde maiden, her fair skin indicates that she came from Royalty, and the other one was also a beauty ginger haired maiden. _

_Both of them gave their farewell to Rommel as he stood on the doorway. _

"It's an honor of inviting us to your office, _Herr Fuhrer_" _The young blonde maiden said to Rommel as she bows, the other one also bows as they showed their respect to Rommel. _

"The pleasure is mine, ladies" _Rommel bows in return, trying to be elegant like them as they said their farewells, and soon both the ladies of St. Gloriana disappears from his sight as they were escorted away._

"So the meeting with the ladies from _St. Gloriana _is now over?" _The young lad then asks as he approached the exhausted Rommel. _

"Apparently it does, and that was quite a transaction…" _As he sighs in relief. _

"Ahm, if I may ask, why did you invite them to your Office in the first place?" _The young lad then further asks as he closes the door behind them while Rommel went back to his seat. _

"I have a proposal in mind to them, this is related to Eirian's operation back in Oarai Academy"

* * *

_The sound of the alarm slowly awakes the unconscious Eirian from his bed, opening his eyes from the dark room he resides, turning off the alarm as he was fully awake._

"That was quite a night…" _He then yawns as he stretched his arms up in the air before deciding to start a new day again as an Oarai student._

_He made breakfast, cleaned his uniform, took a bath and proper hygiene, and before he could know it, he was now outside from his unit as he closed the door behind him._

_The sun was shining, the skies are clear, the salty wind sea was there in the air, and a friendly face then greets him. _

"Morning, Eirian" _The voice of Miho Nishizumi catch the attention of Eirian. _

"Morning, Miho" _Eirian flashes a smile to her as she lastly checks her doorknob before they started to walk together. _

"How was your morning?" _She asks as she wants to start to have a conversation to her friend as they were walking on the sideway, making their way towards Oarai Academy. _

"It's the same usual, how about you?"

"Same as usual also"

"Is that so?" _He chuckled. _

"What's so funny?" _She then asks. _

"Nothing, it's just you became quite social today" _He then flashes a smile in relief as he saw within Miho that she changed for the past few days, she came sociable to everyone she knew. _

"I was a loner back then, but that all changes because I met someone like you" _She then showed her gratitude by putting up a warm smile towards Eirian, gazing on his eyes as she really means it. _

"I didn't mind it; it was rather a normal thing to do…" _He mumbled. _

"And besides, helping someone in need is what Humans do" _He added while on the inside he felt kinda cringe from what he said to Miho._

"Hai! You're right about that" _She giggled. _

"Say Miho, are you going to be the Commander of your tank?"

"Well yes, they picked me to lead my friends, how about you?"

"Well, that job was for Alina, but she turned it down and instead put it on me"

"That's great, I wish we can work together" _She flashes another smile to him as she was eager to work with him during their upcoming practices. _

"Me too" _He flashes a smile in response of her smiling warmly at him. _

"Oh, it's the idiot again, morning" _Alina then caught the attention of Eirian as they met at the way leading to their Academy. _

"Morning Alin- Hey!" _Eirian reacted as he feels annoyance immediately seeing her almost dead face on the morning._

"Morning, Nishizumi"

"Morning, Pavlov"

"It's quite odd for you to accompany Miss Nishizumi" _Alina then said in doubt as she looks at Eirian in a disbelief manner. _

"We're the same neighbors, deal with it" _He scoffs it in response as he didn't even look at Alina in the first place. _

"Is that so? I thought you were hitting on he-"

"That's utterly non-sense, Little Yeti…"

"Did you just call me Little Yeti?!" _She became furious as she then confronts him, face to face. _

"Is there a problem with it? Little Yeti?"

"Oh I got a list with problems on it alright, and one of them is your existence, Idiot!"

"Your face is enough to make me vomit, you little puny Yeti!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Alina! Eirian!" _Elizabeth shouted as she pulls the two away from one another, she was very scary as soon she knocked both of them into their senses again as she sermon the two afterwards in the middle of the sideway. _

"What just happened…" _Miho was confused as stood behind Elizabeth. _

"It's their normal routine after yesterday…" _Elizabeth explained before looking back at the two again. _

"Enough with this childish, you two"

"Hai…." _Both Eirian and Alina said in unison as they even can't look at Elizabeth during those embarrassing moment of their lives. _

"Good, let us head to our class then" _Elizabeth then said as she helps the both of them to stand up, before making their way again towards Oarai._

_After many hours of studying in classes, Eirian and the rest are now at the garage, meeting with their instructors as they prepared themselves for training. _

_The first thing they do is to meet their tanks but for Miho, Alina, Yukari, and Eirian they were very surprised at what lies in front of them. _

_The golden shining Panzer 38(T), the slogan painted Type 89 I-Go, the pink colored M3 Lee, and the Veni, Vidi, Vici, Roman styled Gladiator StuG III, while both the Panzer III and IV are just cleaned from the inside and outside with their dunkelgrau camouflage._

"This is cool!" _The driver of the StuG III remarks at their Roman styled tank._

"Looks appropriate for a conqueror such as Julius" _Their loader then added. _

"Indeed" _The gunner then said in response to the loader's comment. _

"I would have preferred styling it like the _Afrika Korps_, though" _Their Commander then said lastly as she preferred a more German approach for a tank being a German tank._

"Now we can tell whose tank is whose really easily?" _The Commander of the Type 89 enthusiastically said as she sat at the front hull of their slogan covered tank. _

"Pink's obviously the best choice here, it's very cute" _One of the freshmen then said to her peer, remarking their cute pink M3 Lee tank. _

"This is good" _Anzu was looking at their tank, while Yuzu and Kojiro were wondering from where their Tank was painted in gold. _

"How about we just go for it?" _She then asks to her trusty PR. _

"Roger that. I'll contact them right away" _Momo responded as she walks away, pulling her open as she went and call someone from it. _

"How in the world does our tank got painted in pure gold…" _Kojiro was left behind wondering about the expenses and the utterly impractically of their golden tank._

"Just let the President be…" _Yuzu just pat Kojiro on the back as she tries to comfort him for a little bit. _

_But Yukari was extremely horrified from what she saw, Alina and Eirian was just speechless as Miho was caught surprise from what they saw, but she flashes a lovely smile to them. _

"I never thought tanks could be so much fun" _She giggled, causing her crew to smile to her in return. _

"Well, I have seen worse" _Eirian chuckled as he was okay from the tanks in front of them. _

"This is nothing from those typical _Panzerfahren _tanks" _Alina then added as she was also okay with it. _

"Well, yeah, the tradition of _Panzerfahren _is to enlightens someone's transportations' need but this is difficult, very different!" _Yukari was still extremely horrified from what she saw. _

"It's still no fair! We should have had our repainted, too!" _Saori shouted as it was unfair that they didn't paint their tank. _

"Same here, how about an evergreen camo so we can brighten our tank" _Kosuke then turns around to her crew. _

"How about blue and red stripes?" _Elizabeth then suggested. _

"Maybe a light blend of colors could be perfect?" _Haru also suggested. _

"How about we stay at _Dunkelgrau _for a while?" _Alina then looks at Eirian as they shared the same idea again as he gave her a nod as they both agreed on the same idea. _

"I'm with Alina here, we should try to blend in with the urban cities, for now that is" _Eirian then answered as he finalizes their thoughts and opinions about the camo of their Panzer III in which all of them gave a nod of agreement to him in return._

"Now that is just creative…" _Gunther then said as he walks out from the garage. _

"Nothing is impressive than them having fun, correct?" _Ami then asks to Gunther as they caught the attention of their apprentices. _

"That's the principle of _Panzerkraft _alright" _Gunther just shrugs it as the students were already lined up in front of them. _

"Alright everyone, our training session would start today, we will practice basic formation, firing stance, and a lot more, so everyone does their best!"

"Everyone, enter your tanks, cause we're having our first training session of _Oarai Senshadou club_" _Gunther then added as he ordered all of them to enter their respective tanks. _

_Soon after that was a long intense practice of the students, practicing basic formation to target practice. _

"Everyone, shoot their targets, now!" _Momo said from her improvised microphone as she their field instructor. _

"Ready to fire" _Eirian said through his laryngophone (throat mic) as he pushed the small button, causing a short-close distance of communication to his crew, notably the gunner, driver, and the radio operator. _

_Haru was very careful as he puts a round of PzGr 40 into the gun breech, they could hear the ingestion of the shell sliding towards the main breech of the gun and eventually a sound of a small hatch shutting itself, marking it as the gun breech was now reloaded. _

"Kosuke, what is the distance of our target?" _Eirian asks through his throat mic as he keeps observing on the outside field via his guard visor. _

_Elizabeth receives the message also as she sat on her seat, reading on a manual that Gunther gave to them earlier during their meeting. _

"Eirian, care to tell me how to determine the distance?" _Elizabeth then asks to Eirian. _

"Well, It's on the Gunner's reticle actually" _Eirian casually explains as Kosuke silently measures the distance. _

"The triangle in the middle is four strich, the ones on the sides are 2 strich, and the gaps are 1 strich" _He again explained as Kosuke slowly rotates the tank. _

"What's a strich?" _Haru then asks. _

"It's a unit that measures angles" _Alina then answers as she leans back on her seat as she got nothing to do. _

"Simply calculate the distance by taking the width of your target divided by the strich times 1000, giving you the approximate meters of distance" _Eirian then added as he either taught Kosuke how to use the sights or just wanted to give Haru and Elizabeth more complications. _

"Alright so our target is one meter across, so 1 divided by 2 and multiplied by 1000, then we have five hundred meters!" _Elizabeth quickly math her way to measuring the distance as Kosuke finally finishes at measuring the distance. _

"Loading ammunitions is complete, Eirian"

"Our perimeters are checked, we're already ready here" _Eirian then said through the open channel, letting Momo responses a few seconds later._

"Fire!" _She said through the channel, enabling Kosuke to pull the trigger as a round was unloaded from the gun breech, letting a spark of fire and explosion round into the air and penetrate its target with ease as it hits the target. _

"Nice work" _Eirian commented as he complimented their teamwork, the same goes to Miho's team as they also hit their target. _

"Nice going there, Hana" _Eirian then said through the channel of Miho's crew. _

"I couldn't have done it without the help of Miho" _She replied with a smile of her face as she was flattered. _

_Only the Panzer III and the Panzer IV hit their targets perfectly while the rest were flop since they were still new beginners. _

"On to the next session shall we?" _Gunther then suggested as they started to practice at basic tactics such as taking cover, hiding on places that can be advantageous to them, and do's and don'ts when it comes at crossing different types of terrain. _

_And before all of them could realize it, they all stood in front of the garage one last time for today, exhausted and tired as they waited for the Student Council to end their session for today while their instructors stood at the back, overlooking them. _

"Good work during the practice today, everyone" _Momo said as the rest just wanted to get home now. _

"Thank you very much…" _They all replied with a bow, all of them were exhausted as they lack of the effort of saying thank you to Momo and to their instructors as well. _

"I know it's rather a sudden, but this Sunday, we'll be having a practice match" _Momo then announce to them, causing the exhausted trainees to feel the sudden pressure as they all started to chatter. _

"What?!" _All of them reacted. _

"We're up against _St. Gloriana Girls College_" _Momo then added. _

"You got to be kidding me…" _Alina then comments about their upcoming match. _

"Is there a matter Alina?" _Elizabeth then asks as she was curious about what Alina has said. _

"_St. Gloriana _won the National Semifinals before; they're quite the adversary" _Eirian then explain it towards Elizabeth, causing Haru, Elizabeth and the rest to hear to his explanation. _

"The semifinals…" _Elizabeth was in shocked. _

"Meet at 6 AM at School on Sunday" _Momo then said as she gave the detail of their meetup by Sunday but someone was against of this idea. _

"I'm quitting" _Mako said in the open, slowly she walks away from the formation as she caused a ruckus to their meeting. _

"What?" _Saori asks in confusion. _

"I'm quitting_ Senshadou_" _Mako repeats herself. _

"Already?" _Yukari and her crew were confused, worried, and just straight out curious at why their driver decided to quit very quickly and early while Saori just sighs in disappointment to her friend. _

"Well, that was quite early for sure" _Kosuke then explains to her crew as Eirian and Haru didn't get it. _

"Mako has a habit of not waking up in the morning…" _Alina casually explains it to them as she whispers it. _

"Wait a minute!" _Miho then approaches Mako as she was about to leave._

"Six isn't happening"

"We'll give you a wakeup call" _Yukari also fallowed Mako as she gave a suggestion to her. _

"We'll come and pick you up" _Hana then added another suggestion. _

"Can humans even wake up at six?" _Mako then pauses for a moment, wondering to herself and to them if it was possible for a human to function normally during those hours in the morning. _

"No… we're meeting at 6 AM so you'd have to wake up around 5 AM…" _Yukari corrects her. _

"There are things that people can and cannot do, and I'm those people who can't even wake up at 7 AM in the morning, it was fun, albeit in a short time so adios everyone" _She then turns away, continuing her walk. _

"But if you leave, they won't have a driver anymore" _Elizabeth then helps. _

"What about your units huh! You're not going to be to move on to the next year" _Saori then takes the lead as she successfully stops Mako from walking away. _

"You're going to end up having to call us Senpai!" _She added. _

"Try calling me Saori-Senpai!" _Saori then tries to persuade Mako by daring her to call her a Senpai. _

"Sa-o-ri-Senp-"

"Plus, if you can't graduate like you're supposed to, your grandma's going to be really mad" _Saori added after she dropped a disappointing sigh behind Mako's back. _

_That was the last draw as Mako couldn't continue to walk away from them as she reacted in regards of her grandma, she slowly turns around and joins Senshadou again, but she needs the help of waking up at 5 AM in the morning in which her crew were very gladly able to help her. _

"Fine… I'll do it" _Mako finally responded, causing her fellow crewmates to feel relief about her sudden departure. _

"With that out of mind, all Captains from their respective teams we'll be having a strategic meeting after this" _Momo then announced as Anzu casually approaches Eirian. _

"Kouhai, will you be able to join us tonight for the meeting?" _Anzu personally asks to him since she since lately Eirian is quite busy during his free time after School. _

"I got nothing to do for this day, so I'm gladly to join our meeting for tonight" _He answered, making Anzu to feel relief from his statement as she gave him a violent pat on the back. _

"That's my Kouhai! I'll treat you with some dinner later" _She giggled. _

"That's assuring enough…" _He mumbled. _

"Alright, that's for now, everyone is dismissed for today's session!" _Momo then later said. _

_The participants bid their farewells to one another as they rest for the evening. _

"We'll be going now, see you tomorrow, Eirian" _Haru waves his hand, bidding farewell to his friend as they were about to leave. _

"I can't wait to work with you again, Eirian!" _Elizabeth also added as Kosuke simply waves her hand to Eirian, while Alina continues to walking, not even saying her farewell to her Commander. _

"You got some friends there, Kouhai"

"Yeah…" _He feels relieve to have a decent and trustworthy crew, it was a new experience to him since it was the first time that his acting became natural to him, even to the point that someone already considers him as a friend._

"Oh don't cry, Kouhai" _She then teases him as she saw his smile. _

"No I'm not, Senpai…" _Eirian responded, turning his face away from her as he was embarrassed. _

"President, the meeting is about to begin shortly" _Kojiro then cuts their interaction as he looks at them menacingly, adjusting his glasses in the process. _

"Hai…."

* * *

_The Commanders of each team are: Azusa Sawa, Captain of the M3 Lee; Riko Matsumoto/Erwin, Captain of the StuG III; Noriko Isobe, Captain of the Type 89 I-Go; Miho Nishizumi, Captain of the Panzer IV D; Eirian Haiiro, Captain of the Panzer III M; and Anzu Kadotani, Captain of the Panzer 38(T). _

_They sat across from a long table within the office of Anzu, in front of the Commanders is Momo as she started their strategic meeting while Yuzu and Kojiro just sat at the background while the meeting was happening in the room. _

"Listen up. St. Gloriana Girls' Academy is prominent at deep penetrating tactical strikes, using their tough armor from the Matilda's or from their Churchill VII, and teamwork" _Momo stated as she started their meeting, behind her was a white board with an information about the Matilda II, and right next to it was their plan. _

"Simply put, their armor's hard to breach, and we need to remember that our guns are not going to be effective unless we're within 100 meters" _She added, causing difficulties to Miho as she lowered her head while Eirian was still listening to Momo's plan. _

"When dealing with the Matilas II's I have prepared a scenario of our match on Sunday, we will do a bait strategy, baiting the enemy into our kill zone, and before they could know it, they're toast as dead" _Momo then said, causing the various' Commanders to be filled with excitement from Momo's plan while Eirian and Miho hides the fact that there was a flaw Momo's plan, causing Anzu to pressed Miho as soon Momo opens the opportunity of them asking questions to her. _

"Something's bothering you Nishizumi" _Anzu then started to press what Miho's thoughts are. _

"What? N-no, it's nothing…"

"Come on, go ahead. Speak up" _Anzu still insists, causing Miho to look at his friend as they have the same idea that was bugging them from the start. _

"St. Gloriana is going to anticipate that we're going to try to bait them using one of our tanks" _She then said it to her fellow Commanders. _

"So they'll probably try to counter our plan and surround us first" _She then added, causing Momo to have a fit of temper. _

"Shut up! Don't complain about my plan!" _Momo then shouted back, shocking the others about the sudden outburst of Momo's aggressive temper to Miho. _

"If you're going to complain, then you be the Overall Commander!" _She then dared to Miho, lowering Miho's confidence as she sat on her seat, quiet. _

"Sorry…."

"Don't get so mad, I mean Nishizumi does make a good captain after all" _Anzu then intervenes Momo's temper tantrum as she declared to them that a person like Miho Nishzumi would fit to be their Overall Commander during their upcoming match. _

"And with Kouh- I mean with Haiiro around, they can make a pretty good team at commanding us though, so Miss Nishizumi, you'll be in charge of commanding us from now on" _This causes Miho to be shocked and surprised from Anzu's declaration. _

_Anzu then started to clapping, causing the rest to clap also as the title and responsibility of being an Overall Commander was given to Miho Nishizumi, with Eirian being the Vice-Overall Commander. _

"Work hard both of you two, and if we win I'll give you two an awesome prize" _Anzu then told them both Eirian and Miho that they'll receive an 'awesome' prize if they won the match. _

"What is it though?" _Eirian asks as he wondering about their prize. _

"A three-day supply of dried potatoes of course!" _She then revealed their prize and this cause the rest to be worry at Anzu if whether she have an obsession or just like the tasty snack. _

"Really…. Then is there any consequences of losing the match, though?" _Eirian then further asks as he was wondering if whether there was a punishment from it. _

"Yes, and I guess I'll have you all to dance the Anglerfish Dance during the upcoming Festival"

"What?!" _The Commanders except Miho and Eirian reacted. _

"You got to be kidding me!" _Erwin then commented about the Anglerfish dance. _

"Is there a problem with that dance, Anzu?" _Eirian then asks out of curiosity. _

"Nope, and I think that's all for today, see you all on Sunday morning"

_The meeting left the Commanders except Miho, Eirian, and Anzu worried and anxious for them upcoming match against St. Gloriana. _

"It seems that dance really horrifies the others though?" _Eirian said to Miho as they descend from the the stair. _

"I hope we can win this match" _Miho was starting to feel uneasy as Eirian accompanies her. _

"We can do it, just believe in yourself, and do it in your own way" _He then gave her an advice as he casually pats her on the head._

"Thanks… and you like giving pats to people shorter than you, huh?" _She giggled as she liked it, it causes her to feel a bit calm. _

"Sorry… it was just another reflex…" _He felt embarrassed as he replied. _

_But upon looking away from Miho, he saw Gunther on the distance. Gunther slowly approaches the two of them. _

"I'm not interrupting you two, am I right?" _He immediately asks to both of them, causing Miho to flush while Eirian quickly told him that he misunderstood it. _

"_Herr _Gunther, you misunderstood it!"

"He's right, Sir Gunther"

"Such kids in these days" _He then continues to tease them. _

"So Eirian, are you busy for tonight, I might need to talk to you about something if you're free" _Gunther then asks to Eirian, causing him to wonder from his statement. _

"Actually I'm free"

"Is that so? But you were accompanying Miho since earlier"

"Oh, we're neighbors if you're wondering…"

"I see…"

"Hey, Eirian. I think I'll go ahead and meet my friends now, take care of yourself" _Miho then said Eirian as she later gave a bow to the two. _

"Take care, Miho" _Eirian then wave his hand to her, bidding his farewell as Miho soon disappears from his sight. _

"You liked her, do you?"

"Oh, shut up! Gunther…"

* * *

_Somewhere inside Zuikaku's lower deck area was a small bar that resides in the center of a dirty, slump, and heavy vandalized delinquents from some fields that studied in Oarai Academy, the bar was called Donzoko Bar, where Gunther and Eirian were having a friendly conversation as they wait their bartender to give their drinks. _

"So your team is against St. Glorianas?" _Gunther asks as he sat on a bar stool. _

"From what I knew, they're known for their excellent coordination and tough armor" _He also added. _

"Ja, it's gonna be a difficult match" _Eirian answered. _

"But you know, the girls there are pretty like Miho, notably their elegant Captain, Darjeeling" _Gunther then nudges the side of Eirian as he was hoping if Eirian was interested. _

"Sorry to break it to you, but I don't appreciate the utter nonsense of a relationship from an opposite sex" _Eirian suddenly dropped his façade as he stares at his instructor. _

"But you bring up her name though, it seems that you knew about their Commander…" _As he slowly became interested to the subject of St. Gloriana. _

"Yup, I have a lot of contacts of cute girls in the _JSF" _

"Not that, idiot… I mean how did you know her; do you knew something else that would make the match favorable to us?"

"Well, sorry to spoil you Eirian, but I didn't have hints and flaws from them that you can use to your advantage"

"Curse that additional horsepower to all the tanks within the reach of the _Council_… it makes their speed more unpredictable to measure" _Eirian then mumbled as the drinks finally arrived. _

"Why even bothering to look at their schematics, you do know you're still on a mission, correct?"

"I know… But there's somethings odd about tomorrow's match"

"What is it?"

_Eirian then takes a sip from his drink. _

"Girls from _St. Gloriana _has no form of any relations with either the _Oarai Academy _nor the Student Council"

"So what are you getting at, exactly?" _Gunther raises his eyebrow as he was curious about it. _

"Someone's pulling the strings" _As he gave his suggestion to Gunther. _

"Or maybe you're just paranoid from your enemies" _Gunther replied as he drinks his cold beverage. _

"Maybe, but think about it, why would a Semifinalist would accept a training match with someone who just formed its team just few days ago?"

"The girls from _St. Gloriana_ won't ever reject a challenge, and maybe that's the reason" _As he answered Eirian's question. _

"But if you defeat them, this would stir up many favorable advantages to our cause" _Gunther mumbled, causing Eirian to be intrigued from his explanation afterwards. _

"I'm listening"

"Defeating the semifinalist in this mock-battle would alert the rest in the _JSF, _causing them to put some form of connection towards us, maybe they will sponsor us, maybe they give us a new tank, or maybe closing the gap to your efforts at exploiting Miho Nishizumi's motive" _He explained as he finishes his drink. _

"Is that so?"

"Yup, I'm pretty sure the _JSF_ would think about their semifinalist was defeated by a low tier, no-name, makeshift team of recruits"

"Being you as their Commander along with Nishizumi, I can think that you two can defeat them pretty easily, since you're the _Black Baron _of _JIGA _and Miho's the _Kurt Knispel of Kuromorimine_" _Gunther added as he stands up from his seat. _

"But it is for you to decide if whether winning is the best option in this mission of yours" _He then added as he puts the decision to Eirian if he whether wanted to continue winning the fight. _

"Huh?"

"Listen Eirian, you're a great _Panzer Ace_, but you do things without heart and passion, you're nothing but a tool of greediness, and winning this might just show that" _Gunther then faces the young student in front of him. _

"Listen _Herr _Gunther, I don't know what you are talking about, but if that means that I can exploit the motives of her very easily, then so be it" _Eirian responded, showing his emotionless eyes to Gunther as he dropped his façade, looking serious at his pierces it with his dark dead eyes. _

"Look kid, I'm not here to lecture you or anything like that, you do you, I'm just your instructor and observer" _Gunther calms the vibe around them as he rubs his hair, turning his back again as he continues to walk away from him. _

"Just play the match with heart, okay?" _Gunther's last word to Eirian as he walks away from the bar. _

_Eirian just sat on his seat, looking to his emptied glass as he started to wonder about Gunther's last word, "Play the match with heart" and this baffles Eirian as he remained on his seat, clueless if whether he would win or lose the match tomorrow, but his attention was drawn to the bartender. _

"You gonna pay for that?" _As she points at the emptied glass next to him, referencing Gunther's drink. _

"That _Depp_…" _As he sighs in irritation._

* * *

_Morning has finally ascended on Oarai's Zuikaku, and Eirian was walking casually on promenade, making his way towards their designated meetup location._

_While Eirian was walking towards their School, he always bypassed the small park, but upon bypassing it he saw someone from the crew of their M3 Lee, and more specifically the new transfer student that stood behind Ami and Gunther during their first meetup. _

"Isn't that the new girl?" _He asks to himself as he saw her in front of a tree as she was occupied looking at its thick branches._

_The pinkish brown hair twin tail girl just keeps looking at the branch of the tree, occasionally drops some few words as she trying to do something, making Eirian curious as he approaches her. _

"Please come down…" _She said as she sounds apathetic. _

_Eirian then realizes at who she was calling for, a colourpoint cream-dark cat that sits on top of the tree's branch. _

"You know, if you call the cat's attention by a high noise frequency, you can get its attention" _He advised to the young girl, in return the girl fallowed his advice. _

"_pspspspspspsps" She hissed the cat, but her voice was too quiet enough that even Eirian or the cat couldn't hear her voice properly. _

"Alright, I'll take it from here, come here kitty" _As he then hisses the cat as the cat soon fallowed his voice and was on the ground afterwards. _

_Eirian then pats the Cat on its head as he looks at the young girl._

"Name's Eirian, Eirian Braun Haiiro. You probably seen me at our Club, correct?"

"Hai… I-I'm Ana, Ana Akane" _She said as she was very shy, covering his face by using her maroon hoodie. _

"Ana means grace, and Akane means deep red" _As he slowly stands up, carrying the cat also as he stares at his clubmate. _

"That's quite a special name you got there, Ana"

"T-Thank you… f-for h-helping me" _She couldn't look at Eirian's eyes as she was too shy, even saying a word thank you to him properly couldn't even reach out to him. _

"Is this cat yours?" _He then asks. _

"She resides at our School…" _She finally answered properly and Eirian could hear it pretty clearly. _

"Is that so… Shall we get going then, the others are waiting for us" _He then said to Ana as they make their way towards their meetup. _

"This girl is surprising fluid in her Japanese language" _He said to himself as Ana was the one who carries the cat as they made their way towards Oarai Academy. _

"Haiiro… you strange guy" _She said to Eirian, causing the silent and awkward atmosphere to drop immediately as she stares at him. _

"Why did you think about that?"

"You keep looking at me…"

"Oh! My bad, I'm just wondering, since you're so fluid in the Japanese language, kinda makes me jealous since you're a foreigner" _He replied as he rubs his hair in embarrassment. _

"German…"

"I can clearly see that" _He chuckled. _

"You looked distressed earlier…"

"I am?"

_She casually nods her head, putting no effort whatsoever as she shows apathetic in front of him. _

"Well, I'm just feeling uneasy at our upcoming match though" _He responded in utter honesty. _

"Uneasy, okay… face it with heart and passion, good" _She said to him, before walking on a separate path from his. _

"Hey, Ana. Where are you going?"

"Bye…" _She bid her farewell as she disappears upon turning herself into a corner of a building. _

"And… she's gone, she's a strange girl" _Eirian then said to himself as he encountered a weird person from his club, after that he went to the meetup all by himself. _

_Eirian made his way towards their meetup, and upon arriving he immediately saw his crewmate and the rest preparing for their big day ahead of them. _

"Morning, Haiiro!" _Haru waves his hand in the air, waving as he saw Eirian in the distance. _

"Oh, it's our Commander" _Kosuke then puts her attention towards Eirian as she got interrupted by the voice of Haru. _

"He's late…" _Alina said out of irritation, and soon she approaches him. _

"Ahh, _mist…_" _Eirian said to himself as a small yeti casually approaches him. _

"You're late, for the first time, as ever…" _She said to him. _

"Someone got my attention earlier, sorry about that"

"Listen up, you're our Commander so take the responsibility and be like one"

"_Мне до лампочки_ (Means I don't care)" _He mumbled as he caught Alina surprise that he can speak in Russian also. _

"I'm a Russian, Idiot" _She responded as she wasn't impress from what Eirian said earlier. _

"Hai, hai… won't do it again, grandma…" _He shrugs it as he approaches the rest instead. _

"Don't ever do that on me!"

"I can do whatever I want, yeti!"

"Call me Yeti!"

"Look at those two, such full of energy" _Kosuke remarks at their interaction as it feels rather calming to them that the vibe around them disappeared as the two continues to headbutt one another. _

"Yup, and those two can make a really good couple in the future" _Haru then added, teasing them. _

"In your dreams!" _Eirian and Alina reacted in unison as they heard him, very irritated from what Haru have said. _

"Alright, everyone. Get to your tanks, we're moving" _Momo then said as she calls the attention of all tankers in the garage. _

_In response all the tankers went to their respective tanks, prepared as they were about to have a match with the semifinalist, St. Gloriana Girls' College. _ _The engine slowly roared into life and soon after the made their way towards the mainland as Zuikaku made a stop on a town called Oarai. _

"I can see the land from over here" _Haru said as he opened his hatch as they were about to disembark from Zuikaku._

"Isn't that Oarai?" _Eirian asks as the ship slowly docks from the port. _

"That's Oarai alright" _Elizabeth then said as she sat on top of the turret's hull. _

"I haven't been to Oarai, actually" _Eirian embarrassing said to his crew as he rubs his head. _

"We are happy to stroll you around town" _Haru responded as he gave Eirian a pat on a back. _

"Thanks" _Eirian just flushes a smile to them. _

_Soon they have finally landed and Oarai's Senshadou team was the first to descend from the ship as they made their way towards the landing ramp, also meeting up with Miho's Panzer as they were missing earlier from their meetup location. _

"Luckily you girls are here now" _Eirian said in relief through his throat mic._

"Sorry if we detoured a little" _Miho then replied via her throat mic. _

"It's okay though, atleast we have a Nishizumi around" _He chuckled in response. _

"Hai!" _While Eirian continues to have a chatter with Miho Nishizumi, his eyes were then caught by the shadows of 6 tanks above them. _ _6 British tanks, departing from a massive Carrier that makes Zuikaku a puny little ship compared to it. _

"That's huge…" _Kosuke was in awe as she saw the Carrier parked right next to Zuikaku. _

"That's the _Ark Royal_" _Elizabeth casually said to them with a smile on her face. _

"Oh yeah, you're a Tea supplier, correct?" _Eirian then asks. _

"Hai, I have a couple of deliveries from _St. Gloriana _as well, but I didn't make my way towards their ship sadly"

"So they like tea?" _Haru asks. _

"Of course, they heavily influenced themselves with the British culture" _Elizabeth explained to Haru in a casually manner. _

"Well, atleast we have an idea again" _Eirian responded as he looks again at St. Gloriana's tanks that slowly disembarks from on top of them. _ _The tankers of both side went to their meeting ground, an open field with a forest, a rocky terrain, and hills on the distance, perfect for a good match as the weather was clear and the wind was blowing naturally. _

_Sawa, Momo, Erwin, Isobe, Nishizumi, and Haiiro as they wait for their opponents to arrive._

_The 6 tanks from St. Gloriana marched in unison but on a slow pace, eventually arriving on time as they shut their engines off, and soon their team Commander soon pops out from her Churchill Mk. VII._ _It was a beautiful young maiden, wearing a red coat along with high black boots and matching black skirt, resembling the uniform of the Queen's guard. _ _Her hair was blonde, braided in a French braid, her skin was fair and her eyes were the same as the blue sky as she approaches the team._

"So that's Darjeeling…" _Eirian said to himself as he couldn't keep his eye out from St. Gloriana's team Commander. _

"We thank you for accepting our sudden invitation for a match" _Momo then said to Darjeeling as she was thankful for her. _

"We don't mind" _She responded as she flashes a smile that would melt her 'fans' pretty quickly._

"But those are some… unique tanks you have there" _Darjeeling then gave her oblique comment about the appearance of Oarai's tanks._

"However, we will execute our full effort, no matter who our opponents are" _She added as she then saw Eirian from the distance. _

"But we won't fight dirty like Saunders or Pravda, or even _JIGA" She also added as she assured them that they will have a fair and square match. _

"Let's fight each other, chivalry in mind" _Darjeeling then looks at Eirian as Eirian was curious from her. _

"You know her?" _Miho then asks to Eirian._

"No…"

"But she gives me the feeling of uneasiness though…" _Eirian added as something was different. _

"We will now start the match between _St. Gloriana Girls' College and Oarai Academy_" _Their referee announced to them as they were about to start their match. _

"All Tankers, bow" _Both teams bow as they made their way towards their respective tanks, but for Eirian he approaches the mysterious Darjeeling as she slowly made her way toward her Churchill. _

"Hey!" _He calls out her attention._

"Yes?" _As she turns around, looking at him, who was very intrigued from her._

"You said something about _JIGA, _and does this mean you know Rommel?"

"Is that the way you respect your _Fuhrer_?" _She giggled. _

"How did yo-"

"I would like to have a word with you after our match, _Herr Wittmann" She then said to Eirian, flashing a smile before she walks away, leaving Eirian more curious and a feel of uneasiness again as he made his way to his tank. _

_Eirian silently went to his tank, before commanding his crew to made their way and regroup again at their meetup location. _

_They soon made their way on a rocky terrain that was full with rocks, no forest, no green fields, just rocks, and rocky terrain. _

"Eirian, are you alright?" _Haru then calls Eirian attention as he went back to reality again. _

"Huh?! Oh, yeah I'm fine" _Eirian assured them that he was fine, even though Eirian felt a little frustration. _

"Get the head on the game, Idiot" _Alina then said to Eirian, opening the engines again as they wait for the match to start. _

"Hai! Thank you, guys" _Eirian just gave a nod to them, as now they wait for the whistles to blow. _

_The Referees made their way towards their designated locations, not long after 10 minutes, they raised their flag, causing a small artillery piece to fire a round into the sky, making an explosion and thus they start their local match._

"Alright everyone! fallow the plan accordingly" _Miho then said through the channel. _

"Hai!" _All of the various Commanders from their team shouted out of determination._

"Everyone! Panzer vor!" _She lastly said before their threads started to move toward their designated locations, marking the start of their operation against the semifinalist, that is St. Gloriana Girls' College._

* * *

**This is my last chapter for 2019, but the end of this climax volume 1 story will be released on the first few weeks of 2020 so stay tuned everyone! **

**Please leave a review if you guys want it, but I do really need it since I need to improve myself so please leave a review :)) **

**Have a great holiday and always remember, Panzer vor means Panzer Vor! **


	8. Chapter 8 - Tea or Victory!

Chapter 8: "Tea or victory!"

_In the center of Oarai's massize square, was a large monitor screen, enabling the locals to witness the match between the newly formed Oarai Senshadou and the semifinalist St. Gloriana Girls' Senshadou team. _

_The crowd soon started to chatter, because they didn't know that boys were now allowed to participant Senshadou as they saw Eirian Haiiro on the large screen as he went to his Panzer III. _

_Though in the middle of a crowd was a spy from Kuromorimine and JIGA, both were wearing casual clothes as they witness the match. _

"Is the match about to start?" _The spy from JIGA asks as he joins the other spy on the balcony. _

"Couldn't believe that your sister and Eirian are working together, huh?" _The spy from JIGA then added to the other spy from Kuromorimine as he rests on the stone parapet. _

"It is quite interesting, since Miho has little to no interaction to male participants, particularly your friend over there" _She replies. _

"He's not a friend, come on, he's my trusty assistant" _He said, while chuckling. _

"Is that how you see your little brother?" _She raised her eyebrow in return. _

"Oh, don't be like that… I deeply care my little brother, but he doesn't share the same thought to me though"

"How pitiful, Miamoto"

"Now that's just harsh, Maho…"

_Two Commanders from different schools, opposing schools to be exact as they shared the balcony, giving them a birds-eye view at the match as they continue to look at match via the large monitor screen. _

_Back in the match, on a rocky canyon, somewhere in the distance away from the town of Oarai, the metal treads of the various tanks of Oarai started to wind up the silence on the air, rocking the ground as the engines slowly came back to life, and soon they started to move in tight formation._

* * *

"This is our first match, I want all of us to do our best" _Eirian informed to his crewmates via his throat mic, trying to ease up the atmosphere inside as they were anxious but excited. _

"Roger that!" _Elizabeth replied, giving him a thumbs up._

"Got it!" _Kosuke only nods. _

"We're with you until the very end" _Haru added. _

"Just don't try to be reckless" _Alina then express her concern to Eirian as she knew him a while back ago, probably two years as a reference._

"I won't" _He response to Alina's concern. _

"Well… that was assuring" _She chuckled. _

"So what's our move, Miho?" _Eirian then asks, opening his throat mic again as he asks for their next move to their Overall Commander, Miho. _

"Like we discussed, I want you to destroy some choke points that I added on your map, this way we can lure them into our plan" _Miho answered as her tank departed the group, making her way to the other side. _

"Got it" _Eirian nods as he opened the map, staring at it as he saw two marked circles on it, two positions on the map that catches his attention very immediately. _

_Eirian's Panzer III slowly part ways with the rests at it went towards to its assigned task, locate and destroy the choke points that embedded on his map, while the other teams except Miho went towards to their spot, a ridge that has a great view below them, a good location for destroying tanks in a safe distance. _

_For a while they trek on a narrow rocky path, only the engine and the treads disturb the landscape of the area, small rocks were shaking, the animals flee, and the ground was vibrating. Eirian, Kosuke, and Haru opened their hatches as they observe their surroundings with their eyes. _

"No enemies around here" _Haru informs to Eirian as he lowered his binoculars. _

"It's too quiet, do you think they forgot this spot?" _Kosuke asks to Eirian as they felt the silence for too long, causing them to feel a little bit of paranoid since they faced a veteran team and even a semifinalist. _

"I doubt it, but let's finish them quickly" _Eirian replies, causing him to borrow Haru's binoculars afterwards. _

_He scouts the area as they went towards a choke point, it was a small opening, between it was two tall steep cliffs that when shot by a violent explosion could cause a landslide, thus blocking the path. _

"I think that's it" _Elizabeth says to her peers, causing Alina to drove their vehicle towards a decent distance between them and the choke point. _

_Kosuke went to her station as Haru loads a round of High Explosive (HE) into the gun chamber, with the sound of the chamber locks he notifies it to Eirian. _

"_HE _round is loaded!"

"Ready to fire" _Eirian informs to Kosuke, while Kosuke points the 5cm barrel towards the edge at one of cliffs. _

"Fire!"

_Kosuke pulled the trigger, the sound of silence turned into a brief of ear-ringing, adrenaline, sudden explosion from came from the muzzle, the HE round then went flying into the air for a few seconds until it hits on its target, the sound of cartridge drops on the metal floor as the sound of nature rocks the area, shaking the ground as the explosion from the HE causes a man-made landslide, creating a blockage at the end of it. _

"It's a hit" _Kosuke announces as she used the optics from her gun, feeling satisfied as she looks at Eirian afterwards. _

"Nice work, Kosuke" _Eirian then flashes a smile to her, before ordering his agaub crew as they went to the last choke point on the map afterwards. _

"Alright, one down, one to go, Alina"

"On it" _She shifts the gear, causing the tank to turn around and went to the other direction. _

"This is Team B. Miho, we made a steady progress from our operation, we're making our way towards the last choke point" _Eirian notifies Miho via his throat mic. _

"Hai, that's a well job done, Eirian" _She replies with a tone of relief. _

"How's your scouting over there?"

"Fine, rather we haven't seen them yet"

"Same, we haven't seen them also here; wouldn't you think that they atleast made some form of reconnaissance by now"

"Probably not, since the Matildas and their Churchill are _Infantry-support _tanks"

* * *

_Infantry-support tanks, a type of tank(s) that specialize at supporting its infantry by either becoming a walking wall or giving them enough firepower to survive for the day during WWII. The Matildas and the Churchill are examples of an Infantry-support tank, heavy armor, slow speed, yet boasting a destructive armament that remains a threat to light armored tanks. _

_During their last meeting, the schematics of the Matilda was shown from the white board in Anzu's office, Momo was the one who discussed it._

"The Infantry Tank Mark II, also known as the Matilda is a formable tank on the field, though its armament is the 40mm QF-2 Pounder, what makes it a threat is its heavy armor though in expense of its mobility" _Momo explains to the various commanders on the room as she gestures the schematics behind her. _

"During its first years of service in the African Campaign, it was proved to be difficult to handle them due to their heavy armor" _Eirian added as he shifts into a WWII historian, informing them about the superiority of the Waltzing Matildas during its first deployment. _

"So how did the Germans managed to fend them off?" _Kojiro asks. _

"Easy. They outmaneuver them, striking them at the rear where the armor is less effective from the rest, though you need to be in close range in order to immobilize it" _Eirian explained. _

"Not until the Germans introduced the 88mm Anti-Aircraft gun that the Matildas became obsolete on the field, though facing them in this match would still prove to be difficult, but since they're slow, we can outrun them" _He further adds. _

"But do St. Gloriana only field the Matildas?" _Eirian then asks to Momo since he's still new in regards of the teams in Senshadou Japan. _

"No, they field many tanks like any schools would offer, they have the Crusaders, Cromwells, Harry Hopkins, Tetrachs, and a Tortoise" _Momo answers as she adjusted her monocle. _

"Though they might probably field their iconic tank, the Churchill Mk. VII"

"What's that?" _The Commander of the M3 Lee, Azusa Sawa asks. _

"An Infantry-support tank, slow speed, good armor, and a deadly gun, able to penetrate our tanks like it's a piece of cake" _Momo replied as she almost forgot that the Noble Sisters always uses the Churchill tank. _

"We have to be caution when we're facing them, or else we're toasted" _Momo then reminds them as they want all of them to take caution from facing them._

* * *

"So 5 Matildas, and 1 Churchill, they will probably use their tight formation then" _Eirian says to the channel between him and Miho._

"Hai, but we still have no idea at where they are though" _Miho sighs. _

"It seems you're disappointed on yourself" _He chuckles. _

"Nope, I'm just feeling the weight behind my shoulders since we're facing the former semifinalist of the 62nd tournament" _She explains casually as she flashes a relief smile to him. _

"Don't worry. Just do your best, and I'll do my best to assists you with I can" _He then assured her as lifts her spirit up. _

"Thanks, Eirian, I will thank you properly next time" _She giggles as she the weight slowly descends away, enabling her to became more determined. _

"No problem, Team B, out" _He slowly puts away his hand from the throat mic, ending their conversation with the sound of Haru catches his attention. _

"It seems you're having fun at talking to our Overall Commander, Eirian" _Haru then teases him while Eirian immediately feels annoyed from his sudden teasing to him. _

"That's absurd, I'm just lifting up her mood" _He replies while shrugging it, dismissing the misconception between him and Miho._

"I'm not dealing with these shenanigans again Haru, me and Miho aren't in a relationship… we're just friends" _He further explains as he looks at his friend. _

"Though you two are very close to one another" _Elizabeth then butts in from their conversation. _

"Not really… She's just friendly to everyone" _Eirian replies. _

"Really?" _She looks at Eirian, looking at him as she thinks he was hiding their relationship with Miho, probably teases them or him to be exact._

"It's true…" _Eirian just sighs in disbelief, proving that misconceptions can be dangerous. _

"Eirian, I think you need to see this" _Alina then catches Eirian's attention as she halts the tank, causing Eirian to overhang his head on top of his hatch, using his binoculars in order to view things more closely. _

_On the distance was also the same as earlier they encountered, two cliffs and a narrow path between it, but this time there is a problem, one Matilda is closely guarding it. _

"One Matilda, 500 meters" _Eirian informs as he changes the channel from his throat mic, enabling him to command his team more effectively. _

"Where to fire?" _Kosuke asks as she uses her optics. _

"If we fire directly at Matilda at this range, we can't surely win with this distance, though we can do one thing…" _Eirian says to himself via using his wits. _

"Kosuke, aimed the cliff, Alina, ready to charge them, Haru after Kosuke fired the shell, immediately load a smoke shell on the chamber, and Elizabeth, inform everyone that we're engaging one Matilda and we cleared our original mission" _Eirian then orders them all, being serious as the battle was about to start._

"Hai!" _They all reply in unison as they started to do their duties. _

_Haru loads the HE round, Kosuke aims the turret, Elizabeth begins to open the radio, and Alina readies her gear, they all waited from Eirian's order, the intense air around them soon became an adrenaline as the bang of its muzzle started to fire. _

"Fire!" _He shouted. _

_A round then unleashes from the muzzle, it landed without any failure and soon the landslide happened, it distracts the Matilda as the Panzer then charges at the Matilda. _

"Haru!"

"On it!" _Haru loads a smoke shell into the Chamber as the cartridge of the shell earlier finally drops into the floor, with the sound of chamber locking itself, he notifies it immediately to Eirian._

"Loading complete!"

"Kosuke!" _He turns his face to Kosuke before hanging his head outside the hatch again. _

"Right" _She turns her face towards the optics, aligning it towards the ground as the Matilda slowly faced its front hull towards them, standing in one spot as it slowly fires it QF-2 pounder at them in frequent speed. _

"Fire!"

_Another shell from the Panzer was unleashes, the muzzle flashes a second and before they could know it, the shell has landed on the ground, causing smoke to emit from it, blocking the view of the crew of the Matilda, causing them to either move forward or backwards, but they choose to face the enemy and moves their tank towards at them, closing the gap. _

"Alina!"

_The Panzer then moves in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding shots from the continues shots from the Matilda, closing the gap in a short notice, and with one action from the Panzer, it changes the fate of battle between the two tanks. _

_The Panzer then oversteers itself, causing a big surprise towards the crew of Matilda as it caught them surprise, the Panzer III drifts itself, entering into the smoke as the turret finishes aligning itself, pointing towards the rear end of the Matilda is close range, and with the order of Eirian, they unleash a round that immediately immobilizes the tank in front of them._

"Fire!"

_Kosuke then pulls the trigger, an APCR round from the chamber releases the cartridge as a muzzle flashes the dark smoke, a shell then soon pops out and went straight towards the rear of Matilda, it explodes on impact, the sound of engine slowly ends away as dark smoke emits from the end of the Matilda, and a white flag pops out, marking it an immobilized tank._

* * *

_Meanwhile in Darjeeling's tank, the Churchill VII. Her tank along with the rest of Matildas are forming a tight formation as they march towards the center of the map, in decent speed as they wait for the enemy to come. _

_While she was drinking her tea, she receives a report from her teammate, causing her to slowly convinced that they're quite the opponents. _

"We took a hit, and we're down" _The crew of the Matilda said to Darjeeling. _

_Darjeeling's calm nature has suddenly shifted, her tea spills a bit as she was surprised and shocked about the news she received. _

"Any information in regards of the tank?" _She then asks as she became intrigued. _

"A Panzer III Ausf M, and its Commander was a boy" _The crew replied. _

"So it was true, he's truly the Black Baron then" _Darjeeling simply flashes a smile as she sips on her tea. _

"But it ain't over till the fat lady sings" _She quoted as she then orders her team to form a more tightly formation and orders to move even faster than before._

* * *

_Eirian then coughs as he opened his throat mic, informing the rest that they successfully finished their task and managed to defeat one Matilda. _

"This is Team B, we finished the task and successfully took out one Matilda" _He informs through the channel between him and the rest of the team. _

"Good job, Kouhai" _Anzu replies. _

"Nice work, Eirian" _Miho also reply as she later orders him to proceed with their plan. _

"Eirian, proceed to our first operation: sneaky-sneak, regroup with Team C and the rest and wait for the bait" _Miho then orders Team B. _

"Right" _He nods before closing the channel, and soon after he give a remark about something. _

"Seriously, who choose sneaky-sneak as our operation name though?"

"I found it cute" _Alina stated, giving her opinion immediately. _

"Yup, I found it also cute" _Elizabeth joined also as she sides with Alina. _

"You got a problem with it?" _Kosuke asks, since all of them find the name sneaky-sneak a bit cute. _

"He's always serious about things" _Haru explains. _

"No I'm not… I'm just reluctant about using it…"

"Why? Is it because you're always strict and serious back in JIGA?" _Alina responded, trying to start an argument with Eirian again. _

"Shut up, Yeti…" _He said in return as he became irritated. _

"I'm still not used to this hostility between you two…" _Haru stated after he chuckled. _

"It's typical between two lovers" _Elizabeth explains, teasing both Eirian and Alina as they immediately reacted from her explanation._

"That's absurd!" _Both Alina and Eirian said in unison, feeling that they were mocked by Elizabeth again. _

"Oh, cut some slack you two, I'm just teasing you know"

"Right… but let's get back to the game shall we?" _Eirian says to his team before he hangs his head outside the hatch again as they went to regroup with the rest of their team._

* * *

_Miho and Yukari surveys the area, behind them was their Panzer IV, hiding as their engine was silent. In a cliff that overlooks the rocky canyon, they locate and wait for their enemies to arrive in the area. _

_Both Miho and Yukari prone on the ground, using both their binoculars as they saw multiple slow tanks below them. _

"They got quite the formation there" _Yukari remarks about St. Gloriana's tight formation, albeit they move in unison and quite fast to be honest. _

"It's amazing that they're able to move as a group without falling out of line, at the speed" _Miho then showed her compliment as she observes them even more longer. _

"We won't be able to breach their frontal armor with the armor piercing rounds we're carrying" _Yukari responded, worrying about their problem since they're facing a platoon of heavy armor tanks. _

"But Eirian managed to took one out" _Miho replies, giving Yukari an idea that they can still beat them. _

"And that's where tactics and skills come in" _Miho then added as she lowers her binoculars. _

"Hai!" _Yukari flashes a smile in return. _

_Both Yukari and Miho fled from their position and went back to their Panzer IV._

"We found them" _Miho said to the rest as she climbs the Panzer IV, soon she wakes up Mako from her nap. _

"Mako, wake up" _She tries to wake Mako up before further ordering her. _

"I want us to start moving, but make sure the sound of the endgine doesn't echo"

"Roger that…" _Mako said in return, yawning afterwards as she starts to wake the engine again afterwards. _

_The engine of the Panzer IV was starting to return back to life, soon the treads were starting to move again as they went to another location, the engine doesn't echo around the rocks, thus they begin to sneak around while the sound of the engines from the British tanks masks the engine of the utter silent Panzer IV of Miho. _

_Miho's Panzer went to another location with ease and no obstacles or hindrance whatsoever, now they waited for their opportunity to strike the enemy below them. _

"Five enemy tanks are continuing to advance" _Miho said through her throat mic, informing the rest of her crew and the other teams as well. _

"Prepare for bombardment" _Miho said, causing Hana to use her optics, learning the distance between them and the approaching enemy while Yukari loads the chamber with an HE shell._

"Loading complete" _Yukari informs as she opened her loader's hatch. _

"They're at 810 meters" _Hana also informs as she slightly adjusts her optics._

"Fire" _Miho then ordered, Hana then pulls the trigger as they fire their short barreled cannon into the enemy below them. _

_It landed on the ground as it causes the tanks there to recoil a bit, the dust and smoke from the results of the explosion masks the vision of the Tanks on the ground for a bit, but Hana failed to hit directly. _

_From the inside of Darjeeling's Churchill, she was enjoying her tea whilst the shockwave from shell earlier recoil the interior a bit, but her tea is still standing. _

"They've started attacking us, it seems" _Her assistant says to her calmly, while still holding a tea pot as she then offers her more tea. _

"How about we greet them in return?" _Darjeeling suggests as her tank and the rests then shift their turrets towards Miho's Panzer in the distance. _

_Their optics immediately spotted Miho's Panzer in the distance, and soon they started to barrage the lonely Panzer IV. _

"Sorry…" _Hana apologies as their Tank was now on the move. _

"It's fine, our objective is to lure them, not to attack them directly" _Miho explains as St. Gloriana started to chase them. _

"All tanks, commence attack on the IV to our fore" _Darjeeling then took command as they gave the Panzer IV a chase. _

_They started to fire directly at the Panzer IV, all Miho can do was to avoid the shots as she ordered Mako to do a zig-zag pattern as much as she can. _

"Our armor is pretty weak, so we're out of the game if we get hit head on" _She then reminded them as she uses her throat mic while her head was outside from the hatch. _

_Continues shots from the British, rocks and disturb the silence of the landscape, destroying pieces, making more obstacle, and ruining the rocky canyon landscape as they try to hit the Panzer IV in front of them while Miho's Panzer were avoiding the shots at all cost. _

"They're a lot better than I thought they'd be" _Darjeeling then gave another compliment at them, she really underestimates them from the start, and now she became more determined to defeat them. _

"Pick up our speed" _She orders via a radio._

"We're chasing them" _She further added, causing the teams to hasten their mobility even more from the chase, closely closing the gap between them and Miho's Panzer. _

"No matter how you try to run from us, Our School tanks will not allow a single drop of tea to spill" _Darjeeling said to herself, stating that they can still win the match that matches with their elegance not only from the theme of their school but also for their prowess in combat. _

_A shell from the Churchill was again unleashes, landing almost directly on top of Miho's head but luckily it went few inches away from disaster as Miho lower her head just in time. _

_Miho just sighs in relief before turning her back in order to see the approaching British tanks of St. Gloriana behind them. _

"Miporin, this is dangerous!" _Saori slightly opens her hatch in order to catch Miho's attention, Miho could easily notice that Saori was very worried to her. _

"Huh? Oh, the inside of the tank is coated with special carbon, so it'll be fine"

"Not that, you're half out of the tank, what if you get hit?"

"People rarely get hit, and it's a lot easier to see what's going on out here"

"But if you get hit, it'll be terrible!"

"And plus, what would the others say if our Overall Commander is hurt?!" _Saori added, causing her emotion to get the best of her. _

"You should get in!" _She then orders Miho to get inside as she became worried from her reckless decision. _

"Thanks for worrying about me" _Miho smiles in relief. _

"I guess I'll come in, then" _She said to Saori afterwards, causing her to close the hatch as she entered the interior, out of danger and safe. _

"I'm sure if Eirian saw that, he would say the same thing likewise" _Saori then replies, since she notices their relationship between Eirian was quite more than friends as she suspects._

_Eirian sneezes while he was standing idly on top of his turret. _

"I felt the sudden cold…" _He mumbled as he shivers a little bit. _

_He then looks around in order to see the situation around him, however the rests were wasting their time, by either playing cards, playing volleyball, or just resting on top of the tank. _

"It seems the rests are just casually enjoying their free time" _Haru says to Eirian as he opened his hatch, letting the fresh air to circle around his face. _

"By enjoying you mean taking their anxiety away by doing something else?" _Eirian chuckles. _

"If that is how you see it, then yeah"

"So… Do you think we can win this match?"

"It's actually hard to say, but our chances are 50/50"

"No, make it 35/65" _Kojiro then butts in as he caught the attention of the two. _

"Oh, it's Kojiro, didn't saw you there" _Haru then waves his hand in order to greet the four eyes of the Student Council. _

"What brings you here?" _He further asks to Kojiro. _

"Just feeling the breeze for a bit, and like they said, the calm before the storm" _Kojiro answers as he leans on the side of the Panzer III. _

"Any info about Miho's whereabouts?" _Eirian then asks to Kojiro, since they haven't received a word from them for a while now. _

"We haven't received anything yet; all we knew is that they're luring the enemy into this kill zone" _Kojiro answers as he adjusted his glasses._

"Right, immediately notify us if you received a word from her"

"You worried?"

"Not really… Since I'm the Vice-Overall Commander, it's my duty to assists Miho"

"You trust Miho, right?"

"I trust her decision"

"That's good to know" _Kojiro just flashes a smile in return, causing him to walk away from them, joining his team again as he bid his farewell at them._

"See you soon, and good luck to all of us" _He said to both Eirian and Haru as he went to his team again. _

"Haru…"

"Yes, Eirian"

"We should get going, there are clouds on the horizon"

"Yes they do"

"Not literally, Idiot… I mean trouble is coming"

"Right!" _Haru immediately closes the hatch as they finally received a news from Miho. _

"This is Team A, we're bringing the enemy with us, and should be at the rendezvous in three minutes" _Miho announces through her throat mic, informing everyone at the area. _

"Team A is back, everyone into their tanks!" _Momo then started to order everyone. _

"I was finally about to win, though…" _One of the crew of the first year students reacted. _

"Another 600 meters, and the enemy tanks will be within firing range" _Miho again informs them all causing all of them to hasten up their actions, preparing for all of them strike towards the enemy below them. _

_They waited for a few seconds, and then they saw the tank of Miho, immediately Momo was the one who dropped the order and they started firing, even though that responsibility was assigned to Eirian. _

"What the?! Everyone cease fire!" _Eirian reacted in utter irritation, opening his throat mic immediately and ordered them to postpone their attacks on Miho's tank._

"Why are you trying to shoot your allies?!" _Saori asks out of anger to all of them as she uses her radio as they now slowly climb towards their location. _

_With the plan being a failure, St. Gloriana then founds out their tactic with ease as they marched it with tight formation again. _

"I do not think your bait plan is going to work out so well" _Darjeeling said as she anticipated the attack from the very start. _

"Fire!" _Momo again dropped the order to all of them as they started to bombard their enemies again. _

_They started firing their enemies down below them, but all the shots that fired were either a miss or just bounces from their tough armor. _

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" _Momo slowly started to have a fit again as she continues to fire at them with no accuracy whatsoever. _

"You can't just fire all over the place like that…" _Miho said to all of them as they were now behind Eirian's Panzer III. _

"Should have anticipated that…" _Eirian then said to Miho as they continue to fire directly at one of Matildas below them, though their armor causes the shots to bounce with ease. _

"Aim for their treads" _Eirian uses his throat mic again to inform everyone to redirect their fire towards the treads. _

"No use, they're closing the gap" _Alina immediately said to Eirian, as they saw the tanks were about to surround them in just few moments away._

_All the rest can do was to fire at them, shooting all over the place as St. Gloriana took cover from the rocks around them, they halted from advancing as they gain the initiative._

"Fire! Hit them!" _Momo orders as she was now having a fit._

"Shoot everything you can!" _She added. _

"Momo, I think you need to relax a bit, you're having a fit again…" _Kojiro tries to calm her down. _

"Shut up! We still have the advantage here!"

"Enough with this, all tanks advance" _Darjeeling ordered while remaining her elegant posture, she wasn't worried nor anxious, in fact she was very confident as she further starts to surround them. _

_The Matildas and her Churchill advances in slow speed, yet they're closing the gap, doing a marching-fire tactic as they overwhelmed Oarai with superior armor and firepower as they soon started to bombard all of them into submission. _

"This ain't good…" _Haru comments as they were now surrounded. _

"All tanks, eliminate them" _Darjeeling then gave the order to attack them at will. _

_They started to fire, doing a pincer maneuver while Oarai still stands like dead in the water, returning shots to them with utter inaccuracy. _

"They're really attacking!" _Noriko, the captain of the Type 89 said to all of them as they slowly move backwards. _

"It's scary!" _One of the juniors said out of fear as they react towards the intense bombardment of St. Gloriana at them. _

"Calm down, and don't stop attacking" _Miho then said to them, but the juniors couldn't handle it anymore and they decided to run away into safety. _

"We're sorry but we can't do it anymore!" _Azusa said to both Miho and Eirian as she later orders her crew to flee from the battle. _

"Eirian, please win this match…" _Ana then later said to Eirian before she also fallows the fleeing juniors._

"Wait!" _Eirian reacted but since she dropped the radio, the M3 Lee became an easy target to St. Gloriana as they took down the Lee with a shot on the side, thus marking the Lee inoperable from combat. _

"This ain't good…" _Kojiro remarks about their situation as he continues to load the chamber with ease while their tank is reversing. _

_A shot from the Matilda exploded near the treads of the Panzer 38, causing the light tank to lift itself into air for brief second until he landed on the ground hard, disassembling the treads from its structure. _

"What just happened?" _Yuzu asks as she was unsure at why she couldn't control the tank anymore. _

"Oh, the tread came off" _Anzu casually explained as she leans on her seat. _

"They came off pretty easily you know" _She added as their tank hits the bottom of a small crater. _

"Elizabeth, I need to check the status of the other tanks for me" _Eirian orders to Elizabeth as he was occupied at keeping an eye towards the advancing force of St. Gloriana. _

"Right" _Elizabeth starts to check the others. _

"Team A, is everything fine?"

"Yup, we're fine here, Elizabeth" _Saori was the first to comply. _

"Team C, are you okay?"

"Yeah, we seem to have made it though, somehow" _The radio operation of the Type 89 complied. _

"Team D?"

"Fine, of course!" _Erwin complied also. _

"Team E?"

_All she can received was the sound of static on the radio. _

"Team F?"

"We're out, sorry" _Anzu responded as Yuzu still steers the tank, while Momo continues to fire in every direction. _

"Anybody who can keep firing, keep firing!" _Momo with her fit is gaining the best of her again, becoming irrational to her surroundings as she keeps firing while Kojiro tries to calm her down. _

"What should we do?!" _Noriko then asks to Miho as she opened her throat mic. _

"Commander, your instructions?" _Erwin then also asks to Miho. _

"Everyone just fire!" _Momo then tries to order everyone again. _

"Momo calm down a bit!" _Kojiro can be heard at the background. _

"If we just sit here, we'll be finished off…" _Miho said to herself as she was unsure at what to do next. _

"You're the commander, Nishizumi" _Hana with the help of her crew tries to cheer Miho up. _

"We'll do what you say, Miporin"

"I'll follow you wherever…"

"Nishizumi-dono, your orders, please!"

"Miho, your orders?" _Eirian then asks Miho for their next operation as Miho regained her courage again. _

"B, C, and D, follow us" _Miho opened her mic as she started to order them around finally. _

"Got it!"

"Roger that, Commander"

"We'll provide cover to your escape, good luck to you three" _Anzu then said. _

"Affirmative, Miho" _Eirian then nods as his Panzer III then started to provide cover to the rest of his team. _

"We're entering operation: Now with more sneaky-sneaks"

"Again, why with the name…" _Eirian asks to himself as he lets out a sigh. _

_Team A, C, and D are starting to retreat while team A and F provide cover fire as they distract Darjeeling and her team from focusing on the rest of the team. _

"So they're running away? Pursuit them" _Darjeeling says to her crew and to her team. _

"Good luck, Kouhai" _Anzu then cheers on Eirian as they stayed behind, giving Eirian's team the time to follow the rest of their team. _

"Thanks, likewise, Senpai" _Their tank then fallows the rest of the team, leaving Team F behind._

* * *

"So they're going to the town then" _Miamoto said as they watch them via the large monitor screen that stationed on the center of the town. _

"Streets, narrow pathways, and a bunch of covers, this might get interesting" _He added as he became fonder of the sudden development of their match location._

"It seems Miho is scheming something, probably she still has no idea that Eirian of yours is effective in Urban-warfare" _Maho then said to Miamoto as they saw them enter the town. _

"Well, let's just say that they will make hay while the sun shines" _Miamoto chuckles._

* * *

"I think I bait them pretty well" _Eirian said to Miho as his Panzer III was behind Miho's Panzer IV while behind them were the tanks of St. Gloriana._

"We're entering the town, make use of the knowledge of the terrain the best you can" _Miho then said to all of them as they went into the center of the town. _

"Sure thing, Commander"

"Oarai's my neighborhood, the volleyball team always have a training session around here"

"Good thing I have a map" _Eirian says in relief as he opened his map, showing all the locations around Oarai. _

_They lure the enemy into the deeper parts of the town, eventually one by one all of them went into their separate ways as St. Gloriana was forced to split and needs to take them separately, a 1v1 scenario. _

"They disappeared?" _Darjeeling asks to herself, utterly surprised as Oarai disappeared under a span of minutes. _

"I want all to split up and locate the remaining force of Oarai, but take caution" _She orders. _

_Her team splits up as they went to different routes, not one of them shared the same route as they inspect every corners, lots, and places on the town. _

_One Matilda went to the street, saw a bunch of kakemonos (hanging things) but didn't it as they scout the area, one Matilda then caught its attention on an underground lift siren, one Matilda then went to an open lot, and the one Matilda remaining continues to escort the Churchill as they further survey the area via using the highway. _

"Ready?" _Eirian asks to his crew as they hide their tank on the dark alleyway. _

_They wait for the tank to pass by and eventually it showed its rear to them, thus making their move immediately. _

"Go!" _He orders, causing the Panzer III to move again and went on the back of the Matilda, firing upon close contact. _

_The StuG III also fired its long barrel, using the kakemonos as their disguise as they stationed behind it, firing at the side of the Matilda in close range. _

_Meanwhile the Matilda was waiting for the underground lift to open itself up, but what they expect was that the Type 89 was behind them all along, using the underground parking lift as they took them by surprise, firing at them at the rear. _

_The three Matildas exploded in sync. _

_The sound of three explosions can be heard on the distance, Darjeeling notices it as she immediately grabs her headset, and soon three reports caught her attention. _

"We took a hit, and we're down!"

"Sorry, but our tank is out of the match!"

"We've been hit, verifying damage now!"

_Darjeeling was in awe, she accidently dropped her tea as soon she received the reports. _

"They're good, but I'll not let them go even further" _She said to herself, slowly coming to realizations that she pretty much underestimated them from the start, and didn't think much in regards of the elephant of the room. _

"It seems Darjeeling is having a problem at dismissing both Eirian and Miho…" _Miamoto said to Maho as he notices the immediate change of plan of St. Gloriana._

"You have quite a watchful eye, Miamoto"

"Of course, even though Darjeeling is an amazing Captain, she's still a teenager like Eirian or Miho"

_Back in the match, the StuG III is starting to move again, and eventually they saw a Matilda in the distance which the Matilda tries to pursuit them, but the StuG III decided to use its knowledge around the area and tries to retreat via using another alley. _

"No one's gonna detect us with this low profile tank" _Erwin stated as they went to another minor street, probably thinking that they lost the pursuing Matilda earlier, but they were getting ahead of themselves and soon before they knew the problem they were already taken out by the Matilda. _

_A shot through the wooden barrier due to their kakemonos on the tank negated their low profile tank._

_Immediately a white flag pops from the Commander's hatch, its treads were loose, and the kakemonos were either burning or turned into ashes. _

_Back at the Type 89's position, they couldn't go anywhere since the Matilda in front of them was heavier than them, and also add to the fact that they didn't take out the Matilda entirely, they only took out the fuel tank that caused the explosion earlier. _

_As soon as the smokes disappears, they were greeted by the turret of the Matilda, facing at them directly. _

"What should we do now?!"

"I think we should fire"

"Great Idea, Fire!"

_A round from the Type 89 was then fired towards the rear of Matilda, but it only bounces on the turret, this causes the Matilda to fire in return._

_The Type 89 were desperate to escape from the line of fire of the Matilda, but soon they got taken out as well by the Matilda. _

"D team is down!" _The radio started to chatter in Saori's station. _

"C team here; we failed to take out the enemy and we're out! Sorry!"

"I think we're the only ones left now, except B team of course" _Yukari said to Miho as she was still holding a shell, ready to reload in any moment after the first shell is ejected from the chamber. _

"Eirian, are you still there?" _Miho then asks through her throat mic. _

"Yup, and yeah, we're the only ones left" _Eirian responded via his throat mic also. _

"How many tanks do they have now?"_ Saori asks as she changes the channel, redirecting the channel to an open channel in order for her and Elizabeth to communicate pretty easily. _

"Two Matildas, and one Churchill" _Hana answers. _

_Out of nowhere two Matildas pop out from the alley and the street as they discovered the lonely Panzer IV, meanwhile Darjeeling then discovered Eirian's Panzer III somewhat near at Miho's location. _

"We got company…" _Eirian said through the throat mic as they were greeted by a shot from Darjeeling's tank. _

"We also got company, two Matildas to be exact" _Miho replies. _

"Alright, here's the plan, try take out the Matildas while I occupy the Churchill" _Eirian suggests as soon he starts the chase between him and Darjeeling's Churchill. _

"Hai, we'll take the Matildas out"

"Affirmative" _Eirian then closes his throat mic as he stands on top of his seat, making half of his body out of the tank as he gains a better view. _

"We need to lure them, alright Alina, show them what you got"

"Don't need to tell me twice, Eirian" _As she started to being serious again, pressing on the accelerator as the Panzer III started the to be the bait again. _

"Pursuit them" _Darjeeling orders, causing the Churchill to chase at Panzer III, into the alleys, the streets, and narrow pathways as Eirian became the bait, luring Darjeeling out from the remaining force of her team. _

_Meanwhile Mako shakes the two Matildas, avoiding shots as they tried the zig-zag pattern again. It was an intense chase between St. Gloriana and Oarai Academy, Oarai uses its knowledge as it avoids itself from the shots of the Matildas and Darjeeling's Churchill. _

_By sheer luck they managed to escape from defeat as one Matilda accidently managed to crash itself at one of stores as it oversteers itself._

_Eventually the Churchill decided to join the remaining tanks as they met each other halfway during the double chase. _

"Miho, they're targeting you!" _Eirian said to Miho immediately as he orders Alina to reverse the tank and fallow them instead. _

_Miho then encounters a Road closed signage, she orders to turn the tank around but she was now surrounded, her enemies were already in front of her, they then halted as they pointed their barrels towards the Panzer of Miho. _

"Have you heard of this proverb before?" _Darjeeling asks as she opened her commander's hatch, confronting Miho before immobilizing her tank. _

"The English say: All is fair in love and war" _She quoted while the guns are now pointed at Miho's tank, ready to fire when the word from Darjeeling has drop. _

_Miho then surveys the area a bit, looking at every possible way to escape in just a span of few seconds, but luckily a tank from their team took her surprise and ultimately took the sacrifice. _

_The Golden Panzer 38(T) appeared from the alleyway, blocking itself as they sacrifice themselves for the benefit of Miho's Panzer._

"The Student Council team!" _Hana said in relief. _

"So they fixed their tread!" _Yukari added as she was also relief that reinforcement came. _

"Fire!"

_Momo then unleashes a round at point blank towards the forces of St. Gloriana, and it misses. _

"Momo, NOW you miss!?" _Yuzu reacted as they about to be taken out._

_All the tanks of St. Gloriana then pointed towards the Golden Panzer and they took then out with ease, probably an overkill since 3 tanks destroyed Golden Panzer. _

_But this gives enough time for Miho to escape, enabling them to rejoin with Eirian's Panzer as they try to ambush them again. _

"Cut them off! Now!" _Darjeeling orders. _

_The Matildas then started to reverse itself, trying to cut off both Oarai's remaining tanks. _

_Miho and Eirian anticipates the attack and decided to ambush them as soon the tanks appeared from the alleyway, they hug the wall and waited for the enemies to come. _

_Two Matildas then pops out from the alleyway, and they were greeted by both calibers of the Panzers and successfully took them out with ease on point blank distance. _

_Only the Churchill remains, but their location was unknown, and this causes both of them to feel paranoid at where the remaining tank would be, but with the sound of explosion behind Eirian's rear, its location was finally discovered. _

_It hits the rear end of Eirian's Panzer, it exploded and soon a white flag appeared, the Panzer III of Eirian is deemed inoperable as soon the smoke settles out. _

"We're down!"

"Fire!"

_Miho tries to hit the Churchill at its turret's side but with little to no effect as the Churchill is still remain standing, eventually facing its turret towards Miho's Panzer as Miho avoids its shot in full reverse. _

"We're ending this now, go around the tank" _Miho said to Mako as they turned their front hull towards the approaching Churchill, moving forward with great speed as it tries to recreate the drift of Eirian's Panzer III. _

"At least that's how we'll make it look, and on my signal, we'll head around to the right side of the enemy tank and take them out" _Miho added as she explains her plan. _

_As soon the Churchill faces its front hull towards the Panzer III, closing their gap, Miho then drops the signal, causing it to oversteers to the right, making a drift as the turret landed exactly at the right side of the Churchill in point blank, letting Hana the opportunity to fire the shot. _

_Both tanks fired at one around, smoke started to appear as two shots landed at each other. _

_The smoke slowly disappears, and clear winner of the match was none other than St. Gloriana, the Panzer IV's condition was worse than Miho could have thought, its barrel was almost nonexistent, its turret almost broke into pieces while the Churchill sustained minimal damage._

* * *

"Oarai Girls Academy: all tanks nonoperational, St. Gloriana wins!" _The announcer said through the loud speakers of the monitor screen._

"That was quite the battle" _Miamoto sighs in disappointment, since he rooting for Oarai to win. _

"Indeed, it was quite an interesting match" _Maho agrees from his statement, though she still showed her stoic expression it even she feels sad that Miho lost the match. _

"Returning to your office?" _Maho then asks as she saw Miamoto walking away._

"Nah, gonna meet my little brother, see you later" _Miamoto then bids his farewell to her as he went to the pier, in order to meet Eirian again. _

_Back on the pier, Oarai's tanks were being carried by a Type 73 heavy truck as it made its way towards Zuikaku. _

_Miho's crew were standing idly as they watch the tanks slowly enters Zuikaku. _

"So you're the commander…" _Darjeeling then asks to Miho as they approach her. _

"Y-yeah…"

"Your name, please"

"Nishizumi Miho…"

"From the Nishizumi family?"

"Rather different from Maho, I see" _Darjeeling also added as she flashes a smile to Miho. _

"What do you mean by that?" _Miho then asks as Darjeeling was confusing._

"It means you're special" _Miamoto then appears out of nowhere._

"Miho Nishizumi from the Nishizumi family, you're quite shorter to Maho it seems" _He chuckles immediately as he stands besides Darjeeling. _

"Ahm… who are you?" _She asks. _

"Just a face that you will see from now on" _He answers. _

"What brings you here, _Fuhrer Rommel" Darjeeling then asks, immediately exposing Rommel into the public and since Yukari practically knows everyone, she knows delighted to see another Wittmann again. _

"_Fuhrer Rommel?!_ THE Rommel of JIGA?!"

"Nice exposing me… Darjeeling"

"Take it with a grain of salt, will you" _Darjeeling explains with a smile on her face. _

"It seems you are looking for Eirian, I assume" _Darjeeling then said to Rommel. _

"You're probably correct, so Miho, have you seen Eirian around?"

"Hai, I last saw him preparing for something, though"

"Well, I guess he's in good hands right now, and I suppose you want to talk to Eirian also" _Rommel then looks at Darjeeling. _

"Indeed, but since he was busy for today, I'll meet him eventually"

"Well, it seems my time is running out, tell Eirian that I said hi to him" _Rommel then slowly disappears as he bids his farewell to them. _

"It seems my time is also running out, thank you for that wonderful match for today, Miss Miho Nishizumi" _She also bids her farewell to Miho as she went back to her ship. _

"That was strange… what do they need from Eirian?" _Saori asks as she was confused, looking at Miho if she has an answer at her question. _

"Sorry, I'm also clueless…" _Miho replies. _

"That guy from earlier… he is Eirian's brother by the way" _Yukari informs the revelation to them._

"What?!"

_Eirian sneezes again as he sat outside from the warehouse, drinking a can of soda as he relaxes himself a bit. _

"What a surprise to see you here" _Darjeeling's voice then caught the attention of Eirian as he turns his head, meeting the Captain of St. Gloriana again. _

"You said you wanted something from me, so what is it?" _Eirian asks. _

_Darjeeling then gave a small letter to Eirian. _

"You may open this after you finally rests on your room, for now I'll see you again, Eirian" _Darjeeling then walks away like nothing has happened. _

_Eirian looks at the strange letter that he received, before looking again at Darjeeling as soon she disappeared from his sight entirely._

"Right… I'll keep this to myself then" _He then puts it inside to his pocket as he carries on for today. _

_As what Anzu said the other day, if they were defeated, they would face the punishment, and that is the embarrassing dance of the Anglerfish dance. _

_Wearing an Anglerfish costume which it was very fit and utterly embarrassing as they danced on the streets of Oarai, while Eirian and Haru managed to drive the truck and felt safe from the embarrassing dance that would scare them for an eternity._

_After many hours of a tiring day, Eirian finally rests on his bed, ready to fall asleep at any moment right now but he forgot about something, it was letter that Darjeeling gave to him earlier, and thus he turns on the lamp and reads the letter. _

"Thank you for today, our match with you was more entertaining than the one with your brother, also I would hope that we can see each other again, next week perhaps on Oarai's town square, 10 in the morning" _The letter said. _

"Another scheme from Rommel again…" _He lets out a sigh as he was tired for today, all he wanted to do was to sleep now and he went to his bed, closing the lamp as he sleeps for tonight. _

"Oarai Academy, on the 63rd National Senshadou Tournament?" _Rommel asks as he was now on his office, still wearing his casual clothing from earlier. _

"Yes, and I think they will do their best at winning this tournament, no matter what the obstacle would be"

"I see, then that's an intriguing development right there, thank you for that source" _Rommel smiles in return, ending their conversation as he puts down the black telephone. _

"The tournament then, well, let's put the pieces on the chess back again" _He said to himself, looking at the chess board that stood on the center of office. _

"What will you do next, Eirian Braun Wittmann-Haiiro, my dear little brother" _He smirks to himself, looking directly at the portrait of him and Eirian, one last look to it before starting to pull the strings again, to change the fate of Eirian, his little brother. _

* * *

**That's the end of our story :) Volume 1 that is, I probably should take a break for now but we will start our Volume 2 in the middle of this year, so please review if you guys want it and thank you for reading my story till the end of volume 1.**

**And remember: Panzer vor means Panzer vor!**

**Also I have a discord server now :) feel free join in - **** /P9XDmc**


	9. Chapter 8(2) - The Story so far

Chapter 8.5: "The story so far…"

"Greetings! I'm the Author of _Panzer Aber Alternatief, _Author M!"

"And I'm the one who will help Author M, please to meet you all, I'm Rommel"

_The stage lights open, the fans are waiting, and the live is on set as both Rommel and Author M sat at their oversized couch, facing at their fans as they were hosting a talk-show, complete with their black suits, and matching matches. _

"Welcome everyone to our new sub-series, the Recap: The Story so far. I'm Author Michael, or M for short"

"And I'm Miamoto, the current leader of _JIGA, _no need for further introductions since I'm quite the famous guy in this series"

"No you're not!" _The voice of Anzu can be heard from the crowd. _

"Anyhow we will start our recap for today, so Miamoto, would you like to recap our story?"

"Gotcha, so we are going back at Chapter 1 where our main protagonist, Eirian Braun Wittmann-Haiiro was introduced to the audiences. Quiet, strict, and a talented Commander of _JIGA_, and a right hand man of Rommel, the current _Fuehrer _of _JIGA_"

"For those who didn't know, _JIGA_ stands as the _Japanese Influenced Germania Academy_, a German school mixed with Japan culture, and its carrier's name is the _Peter Strasser_" _M explains._

"Eirian was ordered by Rommel to go to Oarai Academy, a school that has no name, few students, and has no any form of _Senshadou_, and his task was to exploit a former Commander from _Kuromorimine Academy _none other than youngest heir of the Nishizumi family, Miho Nishizumi"

"In Chapter 2 we tackle a sort of prologue to Eirian's strength as a Commander, a friendly match between _JIGA's VSG _and an _American high-school Team_" _M takes point. _

"The _VSG _or the _Vorhut Senshadou Geschwader_, which means the _Vanguard Senshadou Squadron_ is the name of the team of Commanders of _Senshadou _in _JIGA_" _Miamoto explains. _

"In this chapter, Eirian was shown for his excellence in combat, this is shown on chapter 2 as Eirian defeated the _American Team _in an almost close match, and in this chapter he then finally arrives at _Zuikaku_, the School-Carrier of _Oarai Academy, _starting our chapter 3"

"In Chapter 3: _Oarai Academy_ it is about Eirian in _Oarai _as a new transferee student, there he found himself in the same class as Miho Nishizumi, and he met some faces on the Student Council as well, like Anzu Kadotani the president, Yuzu Koyama the vice, Momo Kawashima the PR, and Kojiro Tsujihara the treasurer. Anzu then tries to investigate Eirian since his transferee was a bit suspicious, but Eirian managed to hide his motives from her and successfully leaves the place without spilling the beans, but after Eirian leaves, Anzu then finally knows his past"

"In Chapter 4: Forming the team, is where we get the chance to meet out crew, though it's not really the full crew yet, we got ourselves the kind hearted Haru Takehiro, the enthusiastic Elizabeth Kousaka, and the one that has a past with Eirian_, _Alina von Pavlov. In this chapter, Anzu forces both Eirian and Miho to join their newly revived _Senshadou, _though both of them didn't take the whole being forced at, but Anzu still insists and in return this causes Miho to act differently, out of mood to be exact while Eirian was still hesitated to join it, eventually they were called again on the office of the Student Council and gave them the ultimatum, join or being kicked out, at first Miho's friends were against of Miho joining _Senshadou_ but Eirian then suddenly spoke out to Anzu, telling her that he will take Miho's place as he will join it on Miho's behalf, but to Eirian's surprise, Miho finally took all the courage and joins the _Oarai Senshadou_"

"In Chapter 5, this is the chapter where we saw a normal interaction between Eirian and Miho as they were neighbors all along, both of them were at first unaware that they were neighbors not until that they coincidentally met each other as they were both about to head to _Oarai_, in this chapter we finally knew that Eirian is a _Panzer-Stil Commander_"

"_Panzer-Stil_ is a cousin of _Senshadou_ in Germany, with a different rules and regulations" _Rommel explains. _

"Our first part in Chapter 5 is mainly the interaction between Miho and Eirian, and a moment of shipping to both them as well, further on the story we met the mysterious beautiful Natsuki Kosuke, and we get to see ourselves a tank that Eirian and his crew will use from now on, the _Panzer III Ausf. M _as it was discovered by the five of them, and we have Yukari Akiyama here to explain about the _Panzer III Ausf. M_, Yukari?"

"Hai! _Arigatou, _M! Hello everyone! I'm Yukari Akiyama, the loader of Miss Nishizumi's crew, the _Ankou _team and I will explain about the Panzer III Ausf. M, the current tank of Mister Eirian Wittmann" _Yukari then appears as she entered the stage, with a smile on her face she then started to show off her tank knowledge. _

"Don't call me that!" _Eirian shouted from the distant._

"The _Panzer III Ausf. M_ is one of the variations of the _Panzer III_ series, equipping itself with the long 5 cm KwK 39 armament. This version of the _Panzer III_ was produced as an attempts to fit a larger gun to the tank as they planned to equip the 7.5 cm Kwk L/24 previously used in the _Panzer IV_." _Yukari explains. _

"Thank you, Yukari. And then we go to Chapter 6 in which it fallows the plot of episode 2 in the anime, where 6 tanks duke it out on _Oarai's _ground where the victor is a draw between Eirian's team and Miho's team, after this, the gang of Eirian then celebrated on Haru's household and this where we saw the "reconciliation" between Alina von Pavlov and Eirian Braun Haiiro" _M says to the audiences._

"I already ship Alina and Eirian from the start" _Rommel jokes about it. _

"Anyhow, we then entered to chapter 7, where we met the Royalty school, the _St. Gloriana's Girls College_. A School that heavily theme's the British…"

"I'll take it from here, M. And so, _St. Gloriana_ was invited to a Practice match, which they accepted it with honor, though I couldn't say honor, more like doing a favor from a certain someone… and so _Oarai's Senshadou team _met up with these Royalty girls on the day of the match which it was the day that Eirian and Miho finally meet the Overall Commander of St. Gloriana, Darjeeling, whose real name is currently classified for now"

"As the match was about to start, Maho Nishizumi and myself were spying them via the central plaza, watching them on top of a building, it was such an amazing view"

"Rommel…"

"Oh, sorry about that"

"And finally we went to the climax of Volume 1, chapter 8: Tea or Victory! Where the chapter is heavily focused on the match between Oarai and St. Gloriana, though I suggest you all to read Chapter 8 before proceeding to chapter 9/ the start of the 2nd volume. Anyhow the chapter used the anime and the manga as its reference at making the battle scenes, though not all, but still it has the influenced from both the original sources"

"As per usual, St. Gloriana is the winner, the girls did their embarrassing dance in full Anglerfish costumes, and Eirian received a letter from Darjeeling itself, and the audiences are greeted by a new information that Rommel is secretly Eirian's brother, and also he has more plans for him that he would soon release during the start of the upcoming 63rd tournament" _Rommel ends it with a smirk on his face. _

"That's the summary of Volume 1, tackling chapter 1 to chapter 8 but do feel free to read all of them again to get more in depth of the story of _**Panzer Aber Alternatief **_and this is where we end this session, again I'm **M **the author of the story, and with Rommel here, we will see you guys later"

"And remember, **Panzer vor means Panzer vor!**"

* * *

**This is only a gap between volume 1 and the upcoming volume 2... so for the time being, review it, share it to your friends, and fallow it, that would mean sooo much to me. **

**I have many plans for the upcoming volume so stay tuned for that, and no I won't be stopping anytime soon and always hold on that idea, I'm M and I will see you guys later :) **

**Panzer vor means Panzer vor! **

**(sorry for the short chapter, I'm exhausted)**


	10. Chapter 9 - Chain of events

Chapter 9 - "Chain of Events"

_Sitting firmly behind his desk, Rommel is quietly reading a bunch of documents about their upcoming rivals that they would meet eventually on the tournament, until his attention was drawn to the sound of crack of the wooden door opening, accompanied with a voice that catches his attention utterly._

"_Fuehrer, _the meeting is about to start" _The sound of a young boy catches his attention, gazing at the young boy who dressed in sharp black uniform same as his afterwards._

"Right" _Rommel's response as he drops the document to his desk, before fallowing the young person afterwards as they went to the meeting room. _

"_Fuehrer _of the Japanese Influenced Germania Academy, Miamoto Wittmann" _Rommel was greeted by the voice of an adult man as he steps inside the room. _

_Inside the room was only one person, an individual that Eirian despises, the sole councilor of the GPSF itself, and a member of the Leopold family. _

"You got some explaining to do…" _The Adult man says to Rommel, causing Rommel to sigh in return. _

"Here we go again…"

* * *

"I have enough of this!" _Elizabeth cries on his seat inside the Panzer III, resting her head on one of the radios on the tank as she was over._

"What are you whining about, we are just getting started" _Alina says to her friend as she rests on her seat. _

"Alina's right, Elizabeth" _Haru added as he loads a shell into the Gun Chamber as Natsuki nods her head as she agrees on Haru's statement. _

"I know… but they been kicking our butts for the fourth time now…" _Elizabeth acknowledges as she was still feeling sad about it. _

"That's because Haiiro couldn't commanded us during this training" _Natsuki proclaims. _

"And also don't forget, _Ankou _team is same as ours" _Alina added before she continues to whistle while their tank was stuck on the mud, waiting for the automobile club to pick them up as dark smoke emits from the back of its hull. _

"By the way, where is Eirian and Miho?" _Haru then asks as he wonders about where both Miho and Eirian are._

* * *

_Inside the Student Council Room, Anzu is having a meeting with her colleagues while Eirian and Miho were on the other room, discussing about their assets. _

"The other day, we planned fighting against St. Gloriana Girls Academy, who are called the best bets as Champion for the _Senshadou _Nationals, but we ended up losing…" _Anzu speaks on the middle of their evaluation of their last match against St. Gloriana. _

"That's true… still, it's also true that it was our first external match, though we showed a good bout if you even put our lack of practice into consideration…" _Yuzu acknowledges as the video stops where Oarai was taken out by the Churchill Mk. VII. _

"However… if we lose during the Nationals, it's over for us" _Momo added as she has a suggestion. _

"Right-" _Anzu simply nods as she took a bite from her favorite snack. _

"I think we should have another training match before the start of the Nationals" _Momo suggests. _

"Oh? Got someone in mind?" _Anzu then asks. _

"W…. We are making preparations with all our might right now, but…"

"It's just we couldn't find anyone…" _Yuzu then gives a piece of report to Anzu as she takes it. _

_The report contains a bunch of Senshadou teams that they offer to have a training match, but sadly all of them were declined to many reasons that were classified. _

"I wonder if is because the official games are drawing in?" _Anzu offers a possible explanation to them as she continues to check on the reports. _

"Or because nobody wants to have a match that has little to none assets in _Senshadou_ like us?" _Kojiro also offers a possible explanation as well as he was on the corner, doing his stuff as treasurer of the Student Council. _

"We still have to win the Nationals no matter what, Kojiro…" _Momo acknowledges._

"We'll find someone, one way or another!" _Momo then exclaims. _

"It's no wonder we feel anxious about the first round if we'd face it like this… We just need another match somehow" _Yuzu wishes as she was getting anxious and down for the moment. _

"Right! I'll get us some nice opponents; Kojiro, can you help us get some information please?"

"Hai, I'll do it right away" _Kojiro then stand up as he closes his red laptop before walking away from their room as he started to find their next opponents. _

_As Kojiro opens the door, he then saw Eirian and Miho on the distance, discussing about their Senshadou assets as they eventually notice the guy in glasses. _

"What brings you two here?" _Kojiro asks as he saw the bunch of papers that he knows were from the Student Council. _

"Oh, it's you Kojiro. We just been discussing about our assets in _Senshadou_, notably our clubmates" _Miho answers as in front of her was Eirian, reading a lot papers that would benefit them on their matches. _

"Well, the room is now vacant, so feel free to enter it" _Kojiro then gestures the room behind him before he decided to leaves the room. _

"Sure, Eirian. Should we go inside now?" _Miho then looks at the frustrated vice overall Commander of Oarai Senshadou. _

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure" _Eirian then takes the stacked of papers as they enter Anzu's office._

"Hi Kouhai! And also hi Miss Nishizumi" _Anzu then greets the two commanders as she gestures them a seat in front of her. _

_Both Eirian and Miho sat in front of Anzu with Yuzu and Momo besides her. _

"Is the dossiers able to satisfy your need, Haiiro?" _Momo firstly asks as she saw the stacked of files on the center. _

"Hai, thanks for lending these assets to me"

"That's good thing to hear, Haiiro. But we called you two here because we wanted to have a word with you two" _Momo then stated._

"It is about Oarai"

"About the current Oarai?" _Miho then asks. _

"Hai! From the St. Gloriana's battle the other day on onwards, they all strive hard with practice, but… I wonder how it stands about our current actual strength" _Momo answers. _

"Well…."

"Anything's fine- Nishizumi, just say what you think" _Anzu then interferes as she gives Miho a smile and boost. _

_Miho takes a short pause of breath before giving her opinion to the Student Council. _

"Certainly… I think that everyone's working hard after the match against St. Gloriana, but they won't be able to learn the instantaneous judgement and determination needed during matches, just from the training within school"

"In other words…"

"She means we need more experience, training here won't give us much needed experience to handle the tournament" _Eirian said to them as he puts down the dossiers on the table in front of him. _

"Well, we don't have enough experience in real combat, I guess?" _Anzu's response. _

"Yes, by having more matches our current strengths and what we must improve will become visible, I think" _Miho explains. _

"I see… So after all, a match is…" _Momo adjusts her monocle._

"Uhm, I'm sorry if I suggested that we need a match from another school…"

"You don't need to apologize, you got the right idea, Miho" _Eirian told her not to worry about it too much as he got the same suggestion. _

"He's right you know, no need to apologize, we asked for it after all" _Yuzu assures her as she gave a wide smile to Miho. _

"As the saying goes, "A stray cat is stronger than a cat kept at home", after all…" _Anzu quoted._

"But, if we were to suffer a decisive defeat again in the next match…" _Yuzu then feels down as she states her statement but was interrupted by Eirian afterwards._

"No, because there are things you can learn even through defeat"

"Well – Because nothing will happen to us if we should fall during a training match" _Anzu then takes out her favorite snack from her pocket. _

"President. If both of them have the same opinion then- " _Momo then whispers to Anzu._

"I guess I need to take care of it, luckily Kojiro is skillful at that so no worries"_ Anzu's response as she assures her she and Kojiro will handle it._

* * *

_Somewhere in the Academy, Kojiro then sneezes as he stops from doing his work on his laptop. _

"I think I may have a cold…" _He mumbles before he continues his work at gathering information._

* * *

_After a short discussion, the student council then went to the warehouse in order to check the current training session of Oarai's Senshadou team._

"What the hell are those idiots…" _Momo then slowly fills herself in rage as she saw the others slickening around, notably team Ankou as Soari was about leave the warehouse as she couldn't handle the defeat of her team against its fellow clubmates. _

"Please calm yourself Momo…" _Yuzu then tries to calm Momo down as Momo then rushes at the front of the warehouse and immediately called out their attention as she was having a fit. _

"LISTEN UP! Just because there's still some time till the nationals doesn't mean that you can become negligent with training!"

"We have another plans to you all, another training match this week!" _This causes the others to react differently. _

"Well- We lost the St. Gloriana's match, but we will win the next one" _Anzu explains casually._

"Is that understood?" _Momo then asks to them all as she finally cools down. _

"Hai!" _All of them respond. _

"You're dismissed for today!" _Momo then added as their time is about to end today's training, with a bow from all of them, they finally leave the school ground except the student council, the ankou team, and the fox team. _

"Where's Eirian?" _Haru asks the president as his team wasn't leaving yet. _

"Where's Miporin also?" _Saori then also asks to Anzu. _

"Oh yeah, both Kouhai and Nishizumi already leave the school ground" _Anzu answers with a teasing grin on her face._

"Are they dating?!" _Saori then reaches out an irrational thought as she was very surprise. _

"Saori, I don't think they're a couple, yet" _Elizabeth commented. _

"_Nyet_ (No), I don't believe Eirian would have the guts to ask Miho out, nor any girls he meet" _Alina clarifies as she gives a shrug of disdain._

"What's the reason why both of them leave the school ground already President?" _Haru asks. _

"Well, let us see that both of them are working hard behind-the-scenes" _Anzu cheerfully replies. _

"What does that mean?"

* * *

_Somewhere in a café in the middle of Oarai's neighborhood, Eirian and Miho are reviewing the dossiers that they received from the council as they take the occasion break and eat some cakes to reduce their stress. _

"Are you sure you still wanted to join after all those painful long hours of memorization, Miho?" _Eirian asks as he was embarrassed that Miho was helping him. _

"Hai, it's fine, Eirian. As the Overall Commander it's my duty as well to help my subordinates" _She giggles. _

"But to think that you would go that far at memorizing those dossiers is still very surprise to me" _She added as she takes a bit from her blueberry slice of cake. _

"Yeah… I haven't really remembered much of our Clubmates' name to be honest, and that's why I want to learn them even more by these dossiers" _Eirian explains._

"But why won't you just go to them and talk to them directly?" _She then asks._

"I'm not good at socializing people that much…" _Eirian answers hesitantly as he avoids eye contact to Miho. _

"So you're shy, Eirian?"

"Hai…"

_Miho then giggles before she holds Eirian's hand as she tries to comfort him. _

"It's okay to be a bit bashful to them, Eirian. I know you can do it" _She then smiles at him, causing Eirian to realize to what she said to them, after he gave her a nod Miho then immediately went back to her seat as she was very embarrassed and shameful for what she did to him, holding his hand was a big no-no to her._

"I'm sorry for acting irrationally…" _She mumbled as she lowered her head in shame. _

"No, it's fine actually, thanks Miho for everything"

_Miho then slowly smiles widely and warmly to him as she gained her confidence back before giving him a _"Hai!" _as they soon pursue their duty afterwards._

* * *

_Outside Oarai's Zuikaku is another schoolship across the vast ocean, its style was heavily influenced by the old Victorian British era culture as buildings, the streets, and even the facilities are all about the British in general. _

_Somewhere within the land of green flourish land outside the heavy density neighborhood was a large Victorian age castle, the Balmoral Castle, where the Royal girls of St. Gloriana resides. _

_It was already dark outside as Darjeeling in her white negligee is accompanied by Orange Pekoe with her cute yellow pyjamas in her bedroom as Pekoe gracefully brushes Darjeeling's long, silky, blonde hair. _

"Miss Darjeeling, may I ask something?"

"You may"

"What's the reason why you asked Sir Eirian out?"

"Are you curious at why I asked him out?"

"Yes, Miss Darjeeling"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is it not, Miss Orange Pekoe?" _Darjeeling quoted as she looks at Pekoe behind her. _

"I don't understand what you mean by that, Miss Darjeeling?" _As she was confused. _

"If you take the account of our recent visit to Rommel, then you will know it, dear" _Darjeeling explains. _

"If I may state my opinion about this matter, Miss Darjeeling, is that how can we trust that Rommel isn't gonna led us to a trap?"

"He won't, and I learned a lot from him"

"Learned a lot from him?"

"Say, Miss Pekoe. Do you enjoy Senshadou?"

"Me? Well, I do enjoy Senshadou"

"Then you already know my intentions to Eirian when I meet him again this week" _She smiles at Pekoe. _

"You will do that?"

"Yes, dear"

"If I may ask, what is reason why you're so persistent of helping Eirian, Miss Darjeeling?"

_Darjeeling then pauses for a moment before she finally looks at Pekoe in the eyes. _

"That's a story for another time, dear" _She giggles causing confusion to Pekoe as she just looks at her, giving her a nod before she brushes her hair afterwards._

* * *

"Why are you still here, Kojiro?" _Saijo asks as he saw Kojiro at the top of Oarai's rooftop. _

"As a matter of fact, why are you here?" _Saijo further asks as he was confused to see Kojiro in a state of being busy. _

"It's Senshadou, _Sensei…_"

"What about it?"

"Well, I been trying to make contact of other Senshadou Schools across the Japanese Archipelago… but sadly none of them really wanted to have a match since the tournament is closing in…" _Kojiro sighs. _

"I mean, what in their damn minds that they would accept a match from a recently started team full of newbies…" _Kojiro added as he was losing hope. _

"So you're saying your team has no capable of winning?"

_Kojiro simply stares at Saijo before he lowered his head as he finally replies to his question. _

"Even though we're training every day, I couldn't see the picture of the team winning this tournament, not with the new system of allowing 16 more teams to join in, it would be embarrassing if we lost the first match…"

"But you do know we managed to win against St. Gloriana, right?"

"Win? That was just luck being carried out by both Nishizumi and Haiiro…"

"Well, that wasn't the case really" _Saijo mumbles. _

"What do you mean by tha-"

"Don't worry, I'll try to get us some opponents to battle this week, see you later, four eyes" _Saijo then walks away with a smile on his face. _

"Wasn't the case? Is _Sensei_ trying to acknowledge about the recent match, I wonder?"

* * *

_Outside Rommel's office is Rommel walking down the hallway, accompanied by two fellow JIGA students as they make their way towards his Office. _

"In regards of our training, we achieved 27% of efficiency since last week, Fuehrer" _Rommel's fellow subordinate said to him in a rather calm deep voice. _

"Steady as she goes, aye?"

"_Ja, _though it seems our efforts is paying off"

"Though it's still sad to consider that Haiiro isn't here anymore…" _The other fellow said to them as she was sad as she lowered her head, causing her red twintail to fall under her face. _

"Is it…"

"Alright you two, now isn't the time for feeling down, time is in the essence, we need to improve our assets even more efficiently"_ Rommel then interrupts the two as he stopped from walking. _

"But Rommel, why do we need to improve our assets, we're the elites of the elites in Germany?"

"Though it is correct that we are considered elites in Germany, we still don't that much about what the _JSF_ are hiding from their sleeves…"

"We should be cautious no matter what" _Rommel added. _

"Now, let's go to my office" _He then turns around before all of them continue to head towards Rommel's office. _

_As soon they arrived the office, Rommel then receives a call from someone as his black telephone on his desk was ringing. _

"I need to take this call, you two are dismissed for today, Kotori and Agni"

"Hai! Thank you very much" _They bow their heads in sync before they closed the door behind him, leaving Rommel alone on his office. _

_Rommel then went to his desk and answered the call. _

"Oh, it is you again, Saijo, anything to report?"

* * *

_Outside Zuikaku, outside JIGA's schoolship, even outside the ship of St. Gloriana, is another vessel strolling through the vast emptiness of the ocean, another school carrier but not like any other vessel like Zuikaku, but instead a submarine that resembles a WWII French submarine named __**Surcouf**__. This School Submarine has its own Senshadou team. _

_France was its theme as its buildings have the Haussmannian-style architecture that was famous during 19__th__ century in France, and its culture as its students are also wearing French like uniforms that were similar to the Victorian age of France. _

_In one particular building in the middle of the submarine is a young girl with long dark hair and a pair of light blue eyes. Wearing a high-necked Victorian style ruffle blouse with a pink ribbon tied around the neck, a navy blue pleated skirt with matching black socks and shoes. _

_She was behind her desk as she reviewed a video of a match, France tanks against American tanks as the video was the only light source of the room. _

_As the video continues to progress in which the France were easily devastated from the Americans, a knock on the door called the attention of the sole female student on the room. _

"Fondue coming in"

"Please, come in"

_The one who enters is another girl with glasses, her hair is tied in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon while two long strands of her hair is hanging between her face. Light brown eyes and wears the same uniform as her, she closed the door behind her as she then speaks to her Commander. _

"Miss Éclair, no matter how long you'll try to stare down the footage, there won't be anyone on the other side of the screen breaking out in laughter" _Fondue said to Éclair as she approaches the dark haired student. _

"The way you say that makes it seems like you tried it out, no?" _Éclair then asks as crossed her legs. _

"Well, I can't say that I tried that, but… as for team members devoted to their commander, they might end up wanting to say a phrase that apprehensive since all you're doing is watching the footage..."

"Well then. I guess A commander having such devoted troops shoulder lend her ear to such compassionate proposal right?"

"I'd be pleased if you'd do that" _Fondue giggles. _

"So you must've come here for something, no?"

"That's right, I thought I'd have a look at your surprised face, Miss Éclair" _She then tries to reach out her black tablet before she tries to give it to Éclair. _

"Now that's something I look forward to…" _She then takes the tablet. _

"The foreign school, the _Japanese Influenced Germania Academy _wants to have a word with you, miss Éclair" _Fondue stated, causing Éclair to almost lose her composure. _

"_Quoi?! _(What), _JIGA_ wanted to have a word with me?"

"Hai, Miss Éclair. Their leader wants to have a word with you, in private he said" _As she gestures the door behind her. _

"Is he here? When did this all started, you aren't fooling around, right?" _Éclair then slowly fell nervous all of a sudden as Fondue then tries to calm her down. _

"Yes he's here, and no I'm not fooling around, Miss Éclair"

_After she calm herself down, Éclair then turns off the projector before giving the order to Fondue to let this commander of JIGA in. _

"Alright, Fondue. Let him in"

"_Oui Commandant _(Yes Commander)" _Fondue then reaches out to the doorway and finally opens the wooden door. _

"_Le dirigeant of JIGA, _please come in" _Fondue then greets him as he enters the office of Éclair._

"_Le defigeant (Leader) of JIGA,_ Miamoto Rommel, welcome to Maginot Girl's Academy" _Éclair then greets Rommel as he enters the room. _

"_Salutation a vous aussi, Mlle Éclair _(Greetings to you also, Miss Éclair)"_ Rommel then greets her as he bows his head in respect for her. _

"Please take a seat" _Éclair then gestures him a seat as Fondue accompanies her from behind her chair. _

"So _Monsieur _Rommel, what brings you here in Maginot?"

"I wanted to have a word with you, _Mlle Éclair Koizumi_"

"How did he learned Miss Éclair's name?" _Fondue widened her eyes as it was the first time someone refer Éclair her full name. _

_For Fondue it was a surprise but for Éclair, she thinks it was usual for Rommel to blunt out their secrets out in the open. _

"Did you steal that information from the wardrobes of _SBGS? (Second Bureau of the General staff)" _Éclair_ then asks as Rommel is definitely a threat to her. _

"Probably" _He giggles. _

"So Miss Éclair, I wanted to have a favor with you and your troops"

"I'm all ears"

"You must already learn about the **Bet**, correct?"

"It's one the most controversial policies the _JSF _ever encountered, no doubt about it"

"Indeed, and you do know about the tournament allowing 16 additional teams correct?"

"16 more?!" _Both Éclair and Fondue reacted as it was shocking to them to learn that out. _

"Yup, and now this tournament will allow 32 teams to compete just to get a red flag"

"Alright, but what favor are you exactly talking about then?"

"There is a school that wants to have a practice match with the other schools, but since the tournament is closing in, and the school is more or less a bunch of amateurs trying to show their last ditch effort, I did my best and searched a capable school of accepting their offer, and I finally found them here" _He showed his grin to them as he slides a brown envelope to them. _

"Oarai Academy?" _Éclair then opens the envelope and saw the emblem of Oarai Academy. _

"They started their team again, and why does this concern you?"

"Yes, they do start again as a last ditch effort, and it does not concern me, I just wanted to prove someone about something" _Rommel explains. _

"And what is that something is you referring to?"

"The meaning of the concept of _Panzerkraft_"

_It was a long meeting between two commanders of different school but eventually Rommel decided to leave the room as he bids his farewell to both Éclair and Fondue as he went back to his School Carrier via using a Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache helicopter. _

"The concept of _Panzerkraft… _interesting…" _Éclair then smiles as she saw the Drache descends from their school ground and went into the horizon before turning her back and confronts Fondue again. _

"Fondue, we will accept the request of Rommel!"

* * *

**It's the official first chapter of our volume 2 yayy! I'm actually relieved that I'm doing this now again since class is over, and since we all are locked on our houses, how about some productivity and thus I continued it and so another chapter :)**

**Feel free to review, share this to others, and don't forgot keep on living during this ongoing pandemic so stay alive and healthy :)**

**And remember guys, Panzer vo- I mean...**

**Ever expanding, world building, thanks to all, panzer vor : **


	11. Chapter 10 - An Interesting Development

Chapter 10: "An interesting development"

_The day after the meeting between JIGA's Fuehrer and Maginot's Senshadou Présidente _(President), _Éclair from Maginot finally accepted Oarai's invitation, in which on that day Kojiro receives the reply of acknowledgement, he immediately returns to the Student Council as he has a great news to report to Anzu. _

"President! We just got a word from Maginot Girls' Academy" _Kojiro immediately said as he opens the door. _

"What is it, Kojiro?" _Anzu then asks as she catches his attention. _

"It's a news that would surprise you"

"Judging from your face, I do think I'm forward to it"

"You sure do" _He then gives her the piece of letter that he received from Maginot. _

_Anzu then opens the letter and discovers that Maginot Girls' Academy are willing to accept their invitation to have a practice match but they were more to it, it has a condition at the bottom of the letter, stating that their upcoming match will set at Maginot's ground, specifically at their School ground on their School Submarine, the Surcouf. _

"Awesome! This is quite the good news indeed, nice going, Kojiro" _Anzu then cheerfully smiles at Kojiro. _

"Don't mention it, by the way, what's our next move?"

"Well, as usual, I wanted them to train even more since we're about to have a match again"

"Shall I tell Miss Nishizumi and Haiiro about it?"

"Nope, I'll go ahead and tell them myself" _She giggles before she stood up from her seat. _

"Watch the Office for me, okay?"

"Hai, but where are the others exactly?" _Kojiro asks as he wonders as he couldn't see both Yuzu and Momo around. _

"I sent them home"

"You sent them home?"

"Hai, I sent them home because I wanted them to finish the task the I gave them"

"That's unusual for you to do that"

"Of course, since we're facing the tournament, things will get busy from now on" _She opens the door before she bids a farewell to Kojiro. _

"I'll be back, so see yah" _Anzu then closes the door behind her as she leaves the room by the hands of her treasurer. _

"Please don't tell me that she's gonna leave with all of these papers behind…" _Kojiro just sighs in frustration as he goes back to his duties as treasurer again._

* * *

_Anzu walks on the corridor all by herself, she was humming as she walks through the crowd of students during lunch break, eventually she reaches class 2-A and takes a peek at one of the opened doors of the classroom. She saw Miho and her friends hanging out, and Eirian's gang at the corner of room. _

"Bingo!" _She said to herself before deciding to enter the classroom. _

"Hey, isn't that the President?" _Elizabeth then points out their President as she was approaching them. _

"Heyy! Miss Nishizumi"

"Look Miporin, it's the Student Council President"

"Huh?" _Miho's attention was drawn from the footsteps of Anzu as she was approaching her desk. _

"Hi, Miss Anzu" _Hana then greets Anzu as she bows her head. _

"What brings you here, Prez" _Haru then approaches her. _

"I want to have a word from both your commanders"

"Oh, if you want see Eirian, well… He isn't here" _Elizabeth then points out Eirian's empty desk. _

"That's unusual for Kouhai to be absent…"

"But the thing is, that Idiot is not absent" _Alina clarifies. _

"Kouhai isn't absent, maybe he just went to the cafeteria or something"

"Nope, he's nowhere to found" _Haru then shakes his head. _

"Wait, you're saying that Kouhai is missing?" _Anzu was still confused. _

"Not missing, he's more like, he skipped class"

"Is that even possible for Eirian to skip class?" _Saori then asks to them. _

"We don't know, but based from all of our investigation, Eirian should be here right now" _Haru explains. _

"That's strange, doesn't matter, I'll go look for him" _Anzu then suggested. _

"But Miss Prez, I think is the duty of his team to find him, not you…" _Elizabeth then said to her as it was their commander after all. _

"Don't worry, he's my Kouhai so how about you all just stand down and let the Student Council handle this problem" _She cheerfully said as she gives a wide smile to them as she assures them she can find his kouhai. _

"Well, we trust your word, so good luck Miss President" _Miho just nods at her. _

"But what do you want to talk about?" _Miho then asks as she was curious from Anzu's statement earlier. _

"We have to discuss it with Kouhai around, so I'll fetch him now, see yah Miss Nishizumi" _She bids her farewell before deciding to start the investigation of his missing Kouhai. _

"Now where could that missing Kouhai be?" _She wonders to herself as she doesn't have a clue at where to start looking. _

_Anzu then finally starts at the rooftop, then to the facilities, at the school ground, and even at the garages but she still hasn't find her missing Kouhai, eventually as she continues to look around at the edge of the school ground, she then a found a clue. _

"That's strange, I thought the teachers shut this place for the students" _Anzu then asks herself as she found an opened gate leading towards the hill of Oarai's forest. _

"If I trust my guts, I think Kouhai is hiding there somewhere" _Without further hesitation she then went ahead and went to the hill by herself. _

_The trail towards the top of the hill was not rigorous though you may get easily lost since the hill is entirely covered by the green forest. _

_Luckily since Anzu is a third-year student of Oarai, she knew easily where to go, and eventually she reached the top of the hill_ _without any injuries or hindrance. _

"Kouhai?" _She then finds out that Eirian was there also, he was taking a nap as he laid down on the grass. _

"There goes my plan…"_He notices her presence as he take a deep sigh._

"What brings you here, Senpai?" _Eirian then asks._

"I was looking for you, you idiot, you made me exhausted from looking for you around the School campus" _She pouts at him. _

"Is Senpai looking for his Kouhai, how sweet" _He then teases her. _

"Kouhai! I want you to apologize for what you did!" _She demands._

"Hai, Hai… I'm sorry for causing you a lot of trouble, but I don't feel like I want to take some class today" _As he continues to rest on the brow of hill, overlooking the entire beauty of Oarai neighborhood while feeling the relaxing breeze of the ocean and from the trees at the bottom of the hill. _

"So where you skipped lunch because you don't want to take some class, that's indolent of you, Kouhai"

"Said that Senpai who's quite the lazy one also" _Eirian fights back. _

"You know, it's not good to tease your Senpai, Kouhai…" _Anzu then went ahead and stares at Eirian as she crouches above Eirian's head. _

"Well, Care to join me?" _Eirian asks as he finally opened his eyes, he saw Anzu's head immediately and in close proximity also. _

"How about you get up there, Kouhai" _She giggles in response for Eirian's offer. _

"Nope way, I'm staying…" _He then decided to close his eyes._

"Come on, Kouhai! We're gonna have a meeting after this, you know?"

"I already know that, _Maginot _finally accepted our invitation"

"How did you knew that?"

"Gunther told me earlier, when I went to the Teacher's office"

"That's Kouhai alright" _She sighs. _

"What do you mean by that exactly?"

"Oh, that's nothing" _She giggles. _

_Anzu then feels the breeze that easily swayed her long twin ponytail, her brown eyes then gaze at the beautiful sight of Oarai neighborhood as she admired Oarai as a whole, with the background of the vast ocean coupled with marshmallow like clouds, it was a sight to behold. _

"It's quite beautiful to here sometimes…" _She mumbled to herself before looking at Eirian below her. _

_Eirian then took a nap and was even snoring, Anzu just smiles at him and felt that he needs some accompany so she went besides him and lay down as well. _

_She lies down on the ground and blushes immediately as she turns to him, his face was in close proximity as she's able to reach his lips in just few centimeters. _

"Am I too close?" _She asks to herself as she continues to blush, she did have the option of move back but decided not to since Eirian is snoring cutely. _

"Nah, this is okay, maybe I'll enjoy the moment…" _She then closes her eyes as she also joins him as both of them then fell asleep._

* * *

_Evening came and Anzu slowly wakes up as the cold breeze makes her shiver as soon she wakes up, as soon she yawns upon gaining conscious she discovers that there's a dark green blazer that covers her body and as soon she finds that out, her attention was caught by the voice of Eirian as he was still accompanying her. _

"Good, you were awake, how's your beauty sleep?" _Eirian asks as he started to tease her. _

"Why didn't you try to wake me up!" _Anzu blushes as she was embarrassed. _

"Well, because you were enjoying your sleep" _Eirian explains. _

"Unacceptable! I want you to erase all of these, immediately!" _She then stands up, feeling embarrassed as she hides her face from him. _

"Nope, you're quite the sight when you're sleeping" _He chuckles as he takes the Green Blazer from her. _

"Kouhai…." _She then slowly feels enrage and tries to bite Eirian in the arm. _

"I'm sorry!"

_After a while, both Eirian and Anzu are walking on the sideway under the night sky, it was clearly visible from away that Eirian has a bite-mark on his arm. _

"I'm sorry if I bite you, Kouhai, please forgive me!" _Anzu then begs for forgiveness as she bows to Eirian. _

"Nah, it's fine, I just overdid it at teasing you, so it's my fault also" _Eirian then casually pats her Anzu head. _

"Well… How about I treat you dinner then?"

"Sounds like a plan to me" _He gives her a thumbs up._

"Great!" _Anzu then smiles cheerfully at him before she started to lead the way as she showed Eirian her place. _

_Eirian and Anzu then went to a small Teishoku _(Set) _Restaurant at the edge of the neighborhood. _

_Anzu then opened the door and this surprises Eirian as the restaurant they went is none other than Anzu's family restaurant. _

"I'm home!" _Anzu then opens the Shoji _(Wooden sliding door) _as she enters the place. _

"Welcome back, dear" _The voice of a calm and relaxing tone of a lady was heard from both Eirian and Anzu as Eirian also entered the restaurant. _

"I got a new customer" _Anzu then yells out as the place was now empty, probably since it was closing time already. _

"Just take a seat over there, Kouhai"

"Hai, thank you, Senpai" _Eirian then went to the seat Anzu gestured him to go, where it was just a table with two wooden chairs. _

_Anzu then enters another Shoji door as Eirian was left alone at the place. He then looks around the places and saw some paintings of old classical Japanese landscapes and what caught his attention is a picture of Anzu's family, probably dating back few years ago as he saw a happy family, seeing Anzu with the same height causes him to smile immediately. _

"Ah! You must be the person my daughter is talking about?" _The sound of an adult male catches Eirian's attention, turning his head as he looks at left, only to see the chef of the restaurant as he approaches the young lad. _

"Hai, I'm Eirian Braun Haiiro" _He bows in respect. _

"I'm Hisashi Kadotani, father of Anzu, and the proud owner of this restaurant" _He greets himself as he offers Eirian a hand shake. _

_Tall, still looks like a middle aged man, and quite fit for his age, with an expression of being a good mannered person, no wonder this is where Anzu's personality came from. _

"It's a pleasure meeting with you sir" _He accepts the offer as he shakes his hand._

"Now, please take a seat"

_Eirian and Hisashi then take a seat as Hisashi then started the conversation. _

"I heard a lot of you from my daughter, and wouldn't you know it, it's kind a of unusual for my daughter to talk about her Kouhai… So what's your relationship with my daughter?"

"Nothing Sir! I'm just her Kouhai" _He assures her as he can feel a sudden change of atmosphere as Hisashi was trying to interrogate her. _

"Is that so?" _Hisashi looks serious as Eirian just rapidly nods his head as he assures to him that they only have a Senpai-Kouhai relationship. _

"Bummer… I thought you were her boyfriend, if that was the case then you can freely marry my daught-"

"Dad!" _Anzu then rushes in as she immediately stops the interrogation from her dad. _

"Enough with this!" _Anzu then pushes away his dad away from Eirian as they went back to their house again, leaving Eirian behind as he just giggles in return. _

_But after he laughs, he then was greeted by another member of the Kadotani family, but this time, it was Anzu's younger sisters, three of them actually. _

"Are you-"

"_Onee-chan's- _(Older Sister)"

"Boyfriend?" _The girls each ask to Eirian as they rest their head on the table whilst looking directly at his face and waiting for his response. _

"Well… Actually no-"

"Charlotte, Rozie, Misato! Mom is calling!" _The voice of Anzu then calls the attention of the girls._

"Hai, we're coming _Onee-chan" They then went back, leaving Eirian with a big sigh of relief as the nightmare was over. _

"Sorry about that, Kouhai" _Anzu in plain casual cute clothes then appears as she occupied the other seat in front of him. _

"It's fine actually, your family is quite friendly to be honest" _Eirian's response as he assures her that he was okay with it. _

"Yup, because we owned a restaurant and that automatically makes the Kadotanis the sociable ones" _She explains before she giggles. _

"Well, that explains at why you became Oarai's president"

"Well, that story is for another time, Kouhai"

_The sound of door opening from behind causes Eirian to catch attention to it as a young lady in a chef dress is carrying a set of Japanese cuisines. _

"Honey, would you help me with this?"

"Mom! I told you that I'll handle the food for Kouhai!" _Anzu then immediately went to her and decided to serve the food for both her and Eirian. _

_Eirian then saw the similarity from the both of them as Anzu's mom is exactly like Anzu but more more in terms of appearance and physical body except with the hairstyle as Anzu's mom is a short haired compared to Anzu's twin ponytail. _

"I haven't introduced myself earlier, I'm Akira Kadotani, mother of Anzu, pleased to meet you Eirian Haiiro" _She bows to him. _

"Ahm, I'm pleased to meet you too, Miss Akira" _Eirian then immediately stood up and bows to her in return. _

"I'm glad to see that my daughter already has a friend that male other than her father" _She smiles at him. _

"Please continue to watch over my daughter, okay dear?"

_Eirian only nods at her while Anzu was secretly embarrassed and reach to the point that it was a disaster to even invite him to her family restaurant in the first place. _

"I'll be going now, and enjoy your food" _Akira bows again before going back to her kitchen, leaving Eirian and Anzu behind with the table full of Japanese cuisine. _

"Well, that was my mother…" _Anzu then avoids eye contact to him as she very embarrassed from all the happened to him earlier. _

"Yup, you two do look-a-like very much" _Eirian chuckles. _

"Well, Kouhai. How about we should start eating before the food gets cold"

"Hai!"

"Itadakimatsu!" _Both of them said in unison before they started to chow down the food that Akira made for them. _

_After few minutes, the plate is now empty and clean as both of them finishes their meal. _

"That was just delicious, Senpai"

"Thank you, it's my Mom specialty, hehe"

"Anyhow Kouhai, do you know about Maginot Girls' Academy?"

"Hmm? Well, actually I don't. I didn't even know that there's a school that is based from the Maginot line in France"

"But what do you think about their assets would be?" _Anzu then asks._

"Well, maybe a couple of France tanks, probably the Renault FT-17s, R35s, and maybe add the SOMUA S35 as a bonus"

"Well, we need to get more information on them then, nothing says that gathering information is a foul-play"

"Yup, we need information if we wanted to win this match, since we were close at defeating St. Gloriana"

_Anzu then saw that Eirian was getting more serious again and decided to tease him a bit while at the back is her family watching at them as they sort look like a couple. _

"Aww, isn't Kouhai a bit sad because we were defeated by St. Gloariana?" _She teases him. _

"What?! No, I just feel frustrated, that's all"

"Well, you were the one that said to us that we can learn something from defeat"

_Eirian's was a bit shocked and surprised from Anzu._

"Something the matter, Kouhai?"

"No, it's just, you remembered it…"

"Well, yeah… Is there a problem with that?"

"Nah, I'm just embarrassed that you managed to remember those words I said the other day" _He then rubs his head as he was kind of embarrassed. _

"You're so cute when you are embarrassed, Kouhai"

"Shut up, Senpai!"

"Well, I guess our daughter is growing up to be a fine lady" _Akira giggles to her husband as they saw their cute interactions from one another._

* * *

_On the apartment of Eirian and Miho, Miho is waiting for Eirian outside her room, she waits for him to arrive as she was worried and concerned at Eirian. _

"It's already 10 but Eirian is still nowhere to be seen…."

_Then Eirian finally arrives at the apartment and saw Miho outside of her room. _

"Miho, why are you still awake?" _This causes Miho to turn her head and saw Eirian, she smiles and quickly approaches him. _

"Where were you been?! We been looking for you, you know that?" _She pouts as she was worried to him. _

"I overslept, sorry…" _Eirian could do was to apologize as he didn't know that Miho was such a caring person even to him. _

"It's fine but don't do that okay? Or if you do that just tell us okay, your team were really worried about you"

"I'll apologize to them by tomorrow, and why are you exactly here outside of your room?"

"Well, I was waiting for you to return, dummy"

"I see, well then, I'm sorry for that, Commander" _He then pats her head. _

"Apology accepted" _She then giggles before she bids her farewell to him as she then went inside of her room. _

_As soon Eirian closed the door behind him, his usual face then turns into a more serious one and he genuinely were trying to pretend as a façade due to his mission in which he then went to his desk and contacted Rommel about the things that happened to him lately. _

"So both your target and that President of yours are acting weirder towards you today?"

"_Ja, _both of them were really worried about me since I just skipped class earlier during lunch break"

"You skipped class, why?"

"I don't like I want to take some non-essential information on my mission, Rommel…"

"Right, right…" _Rommel doubts it. _

"Why do I feel that you aren't taking this matter seriously?"

"Well because I do actually, the girls are just worried about you"

"Worried? I think not"

"Listen, if you think about it, your position there in Oarai is very advantageous actually, since both Anzu and Miho are trusting you, then you can easily get more information on Miho"

"Well, if you say so…"

"That's good, continue with your mission over there, and good luck on that upcoming match"

"How did you know about Maginot?"

"That's a story for another time, see yah" _The line then ended. _

"Why do I feel that I heard that saying before…" _He tells to himself before he shrugs it and decided to take some rest as today was very exhausting to him._

* * *

_The next day arrives and it was training day for Oarai's Senshadou, both the Panzers' of Eirian and Miho were stationed on top of flat hill. Below them is a 1v1 match of Team Hippo against Team Rabbit. _

"M3 is closing in, distance 900. Got clear sights on it!" _Ceasar, the loader of Team Hippo then stated as she spots the approaching American M3 medium tank at the distance. _

"Understood!" _Saemonza reply. _

"Fire!" _Their Commander, Erwin ordered a round straight to the front hull of the unaware M3 of team Rabbit._

_A shot that came from the forest, fired directly towards the M3 target as it hits at the front hull, the M3 recoils a bit before the engine slowly kills itself as smoke and dust settled in. _

"Well done! A clear hit!" _Oryou, their driver then said as a white flag emits from the hull of the M3, deeming it inoperable._

"We hit the target, Commander Nishizumi" _Erwin then reports back to Miho as she uses her throat mic. _

"The StuG III is a vehicle intended to lay in ambush, to face the enemy while staying hidden behind cover, going hull-down is the most advantageous strategy" _Miho explains as she lowered her binoculars as both her and Eirian were watching them at the top of a hill. _

"Roger!"

"Team Rabbit, this is Eirian. Be especially careful if you don't have the information on the enemies' whereabouts" _Eirian then opened his throat mic as he informs the juniors. _

"S- sorry, and got it!"

"Also, make sure not to get out into the level ground carelessly!" _Eirian added. _

"Hai!"

"Well then, move to the next training point immediately"

"Yes, Commander Haiiro!"

"Honestly, this kids will never learn" _Eirian then turns off his throat mic as before he sighs in frustration. _

"Come on, Eirian. They're still our juniors after all" _Miho giggles. _

"I know…" _Eirian just shrugs it off. _

"But honestly, I'm really surprised that everyone's getting better little by little" _Eirian then said as he felt kind of relieve that they are improving as the day passes by._

"Hehe, hearing that from you, it makes me happy that our efforts are paying off somehow" _Miho then giggles. _

"It's quite something that they managed to find our next training opponents this fast…"

"Hai, I'm just surprised as you are, Eirian"

"Yoh, Eirian. Do you have any idea what Maginot Academy is like?" _Haru asks as his voice was heard from the radio. _

"Well, It's an academy focusing on defense where heavy tanks play a leading role, and tactics regarding entrenchment warfare are their forte" _Miho then explains as she heard Haru's question._

"Sounds like a school with a complete different doctrine than St. Gloriana" _Elizabeth comments. _

"I just wish that we don't have to do something if we lose the match like that match against St. Gloriana again…" _Alina said. _

"Agree…." _Natsuki agrees while Elizabeth nods her head. _

_On top of an another hill is the Student Council and their tank, the Panzer 38(T) as they simply observe the ongoing training practice of Oarai Senshadou._

"From the next match, we just have to get stronger no matter what" _Momo continues to observe the ongoing practice below them._

"Well, it's not like it'll be that easy though" _Yuzu then said to them. _

"You can't say that we put up a satisfying fight during the St. Gloriana battle either" _Momo further added. _

"Of course, because somebody managed to miss at point blank range!" _Kojiro then explains as he was on top of their Tank's front hull. _

"Kojiro!" _Momo gasps in reaction. _

"So… Sorry…"

"Ah well, even if you keep thinking about it here, _C'est la vie_" _Anzu then tries to cheer Momo up. _

"_C'est la vie?_"

"It means that's how things happen in French" _Kojiro explains. _

"Because everyone is training in order to win" _Anzu then showed Momo that every one of them were working hard as they show it by their compassion by driving their tanks._

"They're all giving their best" _Yuzu said. _

"Welp, it's about time for us to head out because our 'Game' has already begun" _They then started to mount to their Panzer 38 and soon as the engine started to roll in, they started to roll out their tank. _

"Now all that's left is to pray that rolled dice will show a good result, just to go all out optimistically" _Anzu said through her throat mic as she reminded Momo. _

"Oh cheer up, Momo" _Kojiro then tries to cheer her. _

"Don't call me Momo! And besides why are you cheering me up!?"

"Now that you mention it, Miss Prez… I heard that there was some disorder in Maginot and that they changed their Commander…" _Yuzu then said. _

"Uhm, I think it was…"

* * *

"Miss Éclair!" _Fondue then calls out the attention of Éclair as she was enjoying her meal. _

"Fondue?"

"I brought you the compiled data on Oarai Academy" _She then hands her the paper. _

"Seems like they just recently had a training match against St. Gloriana…" _Éclair rustles the data in front of her. _

"That's the gist of it Miss Éclair. Give it a proper read, because you'll learn something quite interesting from it"

"Something interesting?"

"Seems like I'll get to see Miss Éclair's surprised face again" _Fondue chuckles. _

"That's some quite charitable way of saying i-"

"Ni… Nishizumi!?" _She felt shocked and surprised as she saw her name. _

"Why is somebody from the Nishizumi style in that School!?" _She started to shudder. _

"It appears that she was the vice-Commander of the last year Kuromorimine's Sensehadou team" _Fondue explains._

"I also confirm it from the video of the last year match as well" _Foudue added._

"Seems like she shares the name of the style that a certain someone here admires…" _She then started to tease Éclair. _

"I might not know who you're talking about, but, if there's someone amongst the maidens that favour Senshadou that doesn't know the name Nishizumi, then I'd to meet her!"

"Well, I wanted to show you something else that may peek your interesting, Miss Éclair" _She then hands over to her another piece of data of Oarai. _

_The piece of document she gave to Éclair is a data about Oarai's Vice-Commander of Senshadou, Eirian Haiiro. _

"Who's this _garcon?_ (boy)" _Éclair asks as she was confused to see the Eirian on the photo. _

"He's Eirian Haiiro, the current Vice-Commander of Senshadou in Oarai, he serves as the right hand of that Nishizumi"

"I see, so what's the matter about it?"

"Well, the problem is that we couldn't get more information about him in which it's very strange"

"What's strange about it?"

"Well… Because this file is from JIGA…"

"Wait!? Don't tell me that this is the person Rommel is referring too!?" _Éclair started to shudder again. _

"I think he's the one that Sir Rommel is referring to"

"So not also we're facing the current commander Miho Nishizumi, but also we are facing the young prodigy of JIGA's Senshadou team also? Uuh… this is frustrating…"

"Seems like it's her little sister that we are facing" _Fondue clarifies. _

"If the current Maginot is against the Nishizumi style along with that JIGA member as well... we are easily scre-"

"But Miss Éclair, that's not it. It's not like we're facing against the Oldest Nishizumi, and also Oarai has fought and lost against St. Gloriana" _Fondue then again clarifies as she gives Éclair her hopes back. _

'It's too bad, but that showdown against the Nishizumi style that Miss Éclair is thinking about, will have to wait for a later time" _She added. _

"Fufu, I deeply appreciate your sensible consideration, Fondue" _Éclair then feels relived and calm as she leans back on her chair. _

"Fondue, the next time we have Senshadou, tell them to gather all of the Tank Commanders, because we are telling them were battling the Nishizumi style!"

* * *

**A wholesome chapter about the interaction between Eirian and Anzu? I don't know, but the next few chapters will tackle about the match between Oarai and Maginot, so please review it if you like and how about show some love and fallow the story also to make me happy :**

**That is all :**

**Ever expanding, world building, thanks to all, panzer vor :)**


	12. Chapter 11 - Rabbit Team

Chapter 11: "Rabbit team"

_The ongoing training of Oarai's Senshadou still ensues on the training field, the barrage continues to wreak havoc to the test dummies that the Student Council established, meanwhile on top of a gentle hill is both Eirian and Miho, monitoring the session on the behalf of the Student Council. _

"The others are doing great" _Eirian then lowers his binoculars._

"They're really improving" _Haru then stated as he was resting on his hatch. _

"Aren't we gonna join them?" _Elizabeth asks. _

"The Student Council asks us to monitor the training session for today alongside with Miho's team" _Eirian explains._

"But I feel bored just sitting around here…" _Elizabeth pouts. _

"I know, but soon we will practice as well, don't you worry" _Eirian chuckles. _

"Eirian?" _The voice of Miho startles him. _

"Hai, this is Eirian" _Eirian immediately hold his throat mic, enabling him to speak to the channel._

"I'll keep on an eye on Duck Team and Hippo Team, so can you take care of Rabbit team for me"

"Notified"

"Thank you, Eirian"

_The chatter ended as Eirian pulls out his Binoculars again, monitoring the status of the M3 Lee on field as they managed to hit the test dummy after 7 tries. _

"Good job, Juniors. Now advance to the next course" _The radio chatters on the inside of the M3 Lee. _

"Hai, hai, advancing towards the next course" _Azusa, the commander of the team then replies via her throat-mic. _

"Isn't Senpai a bit too relentless on us?" _Their 37mm Gunner, Aya Oono, then states to her colleagues as their M3 Lee started to advance towards the next location. _

"What did you say that, Aya?" _The other gunner, Ayumi, then asks. _

"We been training rigorously every time Senpai Eirian is in command" _She explains. _

"Well… We did accidently show our Senpais our cowardice during the match against St. Gloriana…" _Azusa then explains as she feels afflicted. _

"But Senpai Nishizumi is different, she's politer and not scary compared to Senpai Haiiro…" _Yuuki Utsugi, their Radio Operator then stated as she just shivers. _

"Hai, Hai… Senpai Nishizumi is way more mature than Senpai Eirian" _Karina then said. _

"Well, that's not true though, Senpai Eirian is quite a good nature as Senpai Nishizumi" _Ana then states her opinion. _

"What brings you to that Idea, Ana?" _Ayumi asks._

"W-Well… Senpai Eirian helped me fetched a stray cat from a tree…" _She explains as her voice became soft as she became shy again. _

"Is that so? Well, even though Eirian is quite a scary person, he's not really actually a bad person, he's just like Senpai Momo" _Azusa clarifies. _

"He's talented, caring, and has a quite good looking face also" _Azusa added._

"Do Senpai Eirian have a girlfriend yet?" _Aya immediately asks._

"No…" _The voice of Eirian was again heard on Yuuki's station as the radio speaks up. _

"Eek!?" _The girls reacted. _

"Juniors… Enough with the chatter and proceed to go to the next course, time is in the essence" _Eirian then became ruthless again as he feeling displeased at them. _

"Hai! Sorry Senpai Haiiro" _Azusa then apologies. _

"Please keep an eye on your Station, Miss Utsugi…"

"Yes, Senpai!"

"Good…" _Eirian then ended the conversation as he sighs in frustration afterwards. _

"I never knew that the Juniors find you a good looking guy, Kouhai" _Anzu then teases him as she was right beside him. _

"At least I don't have a tantrum compared to the other girl they mentioned"

"I heard that, Browny!" _Momo then reacts as she heard him. _

"Oh shut up, third eyes!" _Eirian then feels irritated as he immediately descends from his post and confronts the anger monocle girl. _

"Who are you calling third eyes, Hans…"

"Quit it Tantrum girl!"

_Anzu simply giggles while Kojiro and Yuzu tries to end the confrontation, meanwhile Eirian's team just observed them from their posts. _

"That's Eirian alright… Hot-tempered, noisy, and quite the moron also" _Alina stated as she sighs in disappointment. _

"I think you're giving Eirian a bad name, Alina…" _Haru suggested as he continues to chuckle. _

"That reminds me, Alina. How do you know a lot about Eirian, do you two have a past?" _Natsuki then asks out of curiosity, causing Alina's attention to look at her. _

"I don't want a word about that…" _She hesitates to answer. _

"Oh… Do you two became a coupl-"

"Enough with the misleading conclusion Elizabeth!"

"Geez… If you guys want to learn about why I know so much about Eirian, is because I met a while back ago" _She was able to speak up after a long minute of hesitation. _

"A long ago?"

"Yup, I was just a junior back when I was still a student in Red Square Academy, and that's the time when I heard some rumors that a person who studies in JIGA is considered to be a ruthless person in Panzerkraft, at first I didn't believe it but when I joined the **Motov-torp** tournament, I finally believed that the rumors were true… and that's the time where I finally met the man that was filled with rumors, he's none other than our idiotic Commander"

"If I remember correctly, you're a former Put' tankov Commander, right?" _Haru asks. _

"Yes, I was the vice-commander of Red Square Put' tankov unit"

"And what's with this JIGA all about, it's the first time I heard that name though?" _Elizabeth then asks. _

"JIGA stands for the Japanese Influenced Germania Academy, a school that combines both the culture of Germany and Japan together, and it's a formidable opponent not only in Put' Tankov but also in Tankery and Senshadou also" _Alina explains. _

"If your saying is correct then let us hope that we don't face them in the future" _Natsuki stated. _

"Yeah… And that's the reason why you don't trust Eirian so easily"

"I doubt it, Alina" _Elizabeth doubts it. _

"Even though if your saying is true, we don't have the right to judge the person because of his past, we judge him by the now, Alina… The present is what we're judging at" _She added. _

"So what? You put your loyalty entirely to him?"

"No, I won't put my loyalty to him, but I can trust him, and you should too"

"That's barbaric, simple as that, I don't trust an enemy that's all" _Alina shrugs it off. _

"You say that but you considered him as a friend, don't you not?" _Natsuki then strikes back. _

"W-W-Well! I-It's because he's our Commander, that's all to it!" _She reacted pretty quickly than they expected her to be. _

"She's a _Tsun-dere _indeed…_" Natsuki mumbles. _

"What did you just say about me?!"

"Enough! I have enough of this…" _Eirian turns around as he went back to his post, feeling frustrated and irritated after he confronts Momo. _

_Eirian went back to his post, much to his surprised, the session still continues with the M3 Lee lagging behind both the Duck and Hippo team. _

"It seems your Juniors are having difficulty at continuing their tasks, Kouhai"

"Do I look like a Teacher to you?" _Eirian scoffs._

"No, but they can learn a thing or two if you decided to help them, other than commanding them of course"

"Tsk... I don't appreciate people who easily showed cowardice on us" _Eirian explains as he looks aggravated. _

"Don't be hard on them, Kouhai. They're just Freshmen"

"Doesn't matter, what they showed is incompetence and must treated the appropriate punishment"

"And what's that punishment exactly?"

"I asked Miho if I can instruct the Juniors, she said yes and I'm trying to be ruthless to them now…" _He explains to Anzu. _

"You really got the nerves the treat the ladies some ruthless training, Eirian… Are you somewhat a sadistic person?" _Haru then asks as he pops out his head from the hatch. _

"What? No, that's just absurd, and don't lead to conclusion so lightly, Haru…" _Eirian sighs. _

"Alright! I get it, you want me to help them, fine, I'll help them" _Eirian then turns to Anzu before he decided to order his crew now. _

"That's my Kouhai… good luck!" _Anzu just smiles at him before she descends from the Tank._

"Alright crew, move towards the location of Rabbit Team" _Eirian ordered the group before opening his throat mic and informs it to Miho before Azusa. _

"Miho, this is Eirian, I'm now going towards the session and closely instructed Rabbit team"

"Alright, good luck on that, also don't treat the girls too harshly, you're giving them a hard time"

"I will…"

"Juniors, this is Eirian speaking, as I am now speaking, I'm currently going towards to your position so please standby for the moment"

"H-Hai, Senpai"

"I'll continue to instruct you girls once I arrived there, so please be prepared. Eirian out"

"Senpai might be angry at us!" _Aya quickly came to conclusion as soon Azusa finished talking to him. _

"What should we do? I don't want to hear Senpai Eirian sermons at us!" _Saki shudders. _

"Girls that's enough, listen, Senpai Eirian won't do that to us, I'm pretty sure that Senpai just wanted to instruct us, that's all" _Ana explains as her shyness suddenly disappears. _

"Ana's right, and I think we should apologies to him after he arrives here, deal?" _Azusa suggested before all of them decided to depart their M3 Lee and face their Senpai, face to face._

_The gray coated Panzer III of Eirian's team, the Fox team, finally arrives at the place, its engine dies out as the hatch of Commander opens up and soon after, Eirian descends the tank and approaches the girls._

_As soon he meets up with the Juniors, they bow their head and apologies to him. _

"We're very sorry for being cowards, and we're sorry for not listening to your instructions, Senpai!" _Azusa apologies as she wants to have a peace of mind. _

_During that moment, Eirian realize his mistake, and eventually he apologies to them as well. _

"I'm sorry" _Eirian bows his head, causing the girls to panic. _

"Senpai?! You don't need to apologize" _Ayumi was startled. _

"No, it's my fault that I treat you girls inappropriately, since you girls are still new at _Senshadou_ and kinda feel scared during our first match, then it's okay for that, as your Senpai, I won't be angry at you girls like that again" _Eirian explains with a smile on his face, causing the Juniors to express their emotions at him as they were crying, hugging him in the process. _

"What the?!"

"We're sorry also, Senpai!" _Azusa cries. _

"It's fine…"

"No it is not fine!" _He said to his head as he was basically locked and can't do anything about them, almost squeezing him. _

"Lolicon…" _Alina then comments out as she outside from their tank, smirking as she attacks Eirian's situation. _

"I never believe that Eirian likes younger girls, but this is just…." _Elizabeth was in shocked. _

"Inappropriate?" _Haru suggested._

"More like he's a disgrace..." _Natsuki then said. _

"That's the word. Eirian the disgraceful lolicon" _Elizabeth stated, starting to name call him due to the situation Eirian was currently facing._

* * *

_Eirian then started to instruct the girls in a more effective manner, without any sermons nor any harsh comments, he managed to instruct them and make them realize some few points at commanding a M3 Lee. _

"Always remember that your Hull is large, even at a distance the enemies can see you"

"Right!"

"Obviously take advantage to your double main armament, notably the 75mm but its drawback is obviously that the 75mm is fixed and you girls can't turn it, but on the plus side, you girls have the 37mm which it is capable of hitting some lightly armored tanks and some German Tanks at the side at best, so remember that"

"Got it!"

"And please know the strengths and weaknesses of your Tank"

"Right!"

"I think that's about it for today's training, I hope you girls are ready for tomorrow so good luck"

"Thank you, Senpai!"

"Team Fox, out" _Eirian then turns off his communication to them as he lowered his hand from his throat mic. _

"Well, that was a new sight of you" _Natsuki giggles._

"Eirian became soft to them because they hugged him" _Elizabeth then teases him. _

"Enough… Please…" _He feels irritated. _

"Don't be angry, Eirian. Hehe" _Elizabeth then gave him a smirk. _

"I guess I was wrong about you; you sure give them your time though you promised us that we will practice today" _Alina stated as she rests on her driver's seat. _

"I forgot about that, sorry…"

"Don't apologize, you did what's best for them and we're alright about it, right Alina?"

"I can't say that I'm against Haru there, but atleast they learned a thing or two from you…"

_Eirian just looks at her, very surprised. _

"What's with that weird look?" _Alina then feels a little concern. _

"No, it's just… a yeti like you could actually say that to me, thanks I guess…"

"I don't even know if I should be happy or feel irritated from what you said…"

"That entirely depends on you, Yeti… Anyhow, the Student Council wanted to have a word with me, so you guys go ahead now and I'll see you guys here by tomorrow morning"

"Alright, take care, Eirian" _Elizabeth bids him a farewell before she and others went on the other way as Eirian then went towards the office of Anzu._

* * *

_Eirian knocks the door and tries to open it, there he saw Miho and the Student Council as they were patiently waiting for him._

"Good you're here, please take a seat" _Momo then gestures him a seat as she was about start their meeting. _

_Eirian then sits right beside Miho as they listen to Momo. _

"Tomorrow, our match is against Maginot Girls' Academy, a Pre-war France themed academy" _With a click from the remote she was holding, the logo of a blue round turret with a name of Maginot under it. _

"We haven't had any intel about their current composition though"

"Well, if Maginot is really a Pre-war French themed then I'll think that they may have a couple of Renaults R35s, S35s, and maybe a Saint-Chamond…" _Eirian stated. _

"That's Kouhai for you" _The voice of Anzu was heard from the background as she on her seat, eating her favorite snack. _

"If that's the case then I guess we need to think with the strategy then" _Kojiro suggested. _

"We can't sadly, because we don't know much about their compositions" _Miho clarifies. _

"So what should we do then?" _Anzu then asks to Miho. _

"I think it is better that we should try to find their combat strength by tomorrow"

"How about you Kouhai?" _Anzu then looks at Eirian. _

"I'm same with her on this one, we don't know much about our enemies and all we have is speculation and that's it"

"I see, then I guess we should keep an eye on them as soon we drop at the port by tomorrow" _Momo then pushes the button on remote, changing the logo into a landscape picture of their upcoming location of match. _

"Next, we will tackle about their topography"

_After a long while discussion of making plans and strategies, both Miho and Eirian are now dismissed for today as they were walking alone under the bright moon that stood on the far horizon. _

_While walking together, they found themselves a member of the Rabbit team on the distance, this member then goes inside of a suspicious building on the corner of the street. _

"That's one of freshmen…" _Miho then looks at Eirian. _

"I guess we don't have any choice here… we should pursue her"

_Both Eirian and Miho then went inside the suspicious building and as soon they entered the building, it was just a shop, specifically a shop dedicated for Panzerkraft, a Tankery shop. _

"How in a world does a shop like this is established in a middle of a School Ship?" _Eirian asks to Miho as he looks over the interior of the fully stocked shop. _

_Clothes dedicated for Tankers, models about Tanks, some wheel cogs, a bunch of barrels that hangs on the ceiling, and a library of books that all relates to Tanks. _

"Hide!" _Miho whispered as she pulls Eirian into one of the stands of the store as they saw the member of Rabbit team on library section, reading a book about American tanks. _

"That looks like Azusa…" _Eirian then quickly identifies her as he takes a quick peek on her. _

_Azusa then notices something was off on the corner, her interest then peeks her as the corner was making a ruckus, it was like that someone was secretly hiding there, and that finally decides her to approach the stand slowly, by the time she went to the stand she discovered both Eirian and Miho. _

"Senpai?" _Azusa was utterly confused. _

"Hey… Azusa, what brings you here?" _Eirian asks as it was getting more awkward before the three of them as the second passes. _

_Azusa then hides the book she was reading while she dismisses that she wasn't doing anything particular which raises the suspicion of both of her Senpais. _

"Oh! It's nothing, I was just strolling around town and I found this place, so I went in and check on things, hehe"

"She's bad at hiding things…" _Both Eirian and Miho said in unison. _

"Alright, enough with lying, we know you know this place and we just wanted to know what you're doing here in the American section?" _Eirian then asks her to spill out the truth as she was bad at her job. _

"Alright, alright! I just wanted to help you guys a bit and that's why I decided to buy a book about American tanks, specifically I was looking for a guide or manual of a M3 Lee…" _She then lowers her head as she was embarrassed. _

"Why are you lowering your head, Azusa? It's completely normal for you to take some research to yourself" _Miho then cheers her up as Azusa didn't do anything wrong that would make them mad at her. _

"You mean you aren't mad at me?"

"Why would we, we're actually grateful that some members are researching their tanks" _Miho just smiles at her. _

"But if you need a good manual, I think the US Army Tactical Manual: TM-9 750 Medium tanks would suit your taste" _Miho suggested._

"No, I think she should read the FM23-95 75mm Gun M2" _Eirian also suggested. _

"But that tank didn't have the M2, it has the M3"

"Yes, but why are you giving her a manual about driving tanks, isn't that a bit unnecessary?"

"Then why are you even suggesting about using an obsolete Manual for the M3 Lee, it clearly uses the M3 gun compared to the M2 gun"

"How about the Ordnance Maintenance Lee Medium tanks then?" _Azusa then suggested as she shows the book she was holding. _

"Well, that's actually a nice reference book for the M3 Lee" _Eirian states his opinion. _

"That was made from the War Department of the US during 1942, so I'll give it a go also" _Miho also approves the book in which Azusa was happy in the end as she bought the book in a cheap price. _

_Now the three of them are walking on the street, both Eirian and Miho decided to escort Azusa as it was getting a lot dark now. _

_Eventually they arrived at Azusa's house, it was a small yet comfortable two story house with a small garden at its backyard. _

"Thank you Senpais for escorting me home" _Azusa then bows her head as she thanks with gratitude. _

"No problem, and don't stay late, we need your wits by tomorrow" _Eirian then said to her. _

"Hai! And please take care of Senpai Nishizumi for me" _She then teases the both of them, causing Miho to slightly blush while Eirian quickly dismisses that something was happening between him and Miho. _

"You're just messing with your head, Azusa…" _Eirian sighs in frustration about his relationship with Miho. _

"Alright, alright if you say so" _She giggles in return. _

"Well, we're going now, see you tomorrow" _Miho then bids a farewell to Azusa before both of them went back on the road. _

"Azusa is a quite the hardworking one, it seems that you managed to teach them something by being their instructor earlier" _Miho giggles. _

"I know knock them into their senses, there's nothing particular magic about it"

"Yup, but you seemed that you became an image to them earlier, those compliments about you" _She continues to giggle. _

"I take no advantage from that though, so please enough with the teasing, Miho"

"I'm sorry" _She stops from making fun at him. _

"Hey, Eirian?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we can win tomorrow's match?"

"If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things. With today's training, I can say for certain that we can stand a chance against Maginot by tomorrow"

_Miho nods and smiles at him in return. _

"Let's do our best by tomorrow then!"

"Hai, Hai"

_It was already morning and Oarai's Zuikaku finally landed on Shizuoka's Prefecture, alongside Zuikaku was Maginot's Surcouf, both their sizes remained the same in terms of height and length, though in comparison Zuikaku is wider than Surcouf. _

_Oarai's Senshadou team then departs Zuikaku and went to their matching ground, a purely flat terrain with gently hills and a forest on the distance, now they waited for their opponents to arrive as well. _

"Isn't this just some wide field?" _Saori asks as they were standing on the field without any other people except from themselves. No referees, No audiences, and no opponents._

"As expected of Maginot Girls' Academy training field, it's really France like" _Yukari explains as she was still excited as ever. _

"What's exactly the Geography of France is like?" _Elizabeth asks. _

"Mostly flat plains, gently rolling hills in the north and west, while they have some mountains on south and in the east as well" _Kojiro answers. _

"It was said that when the French built the Maginot line, they didn't bother to expand it towards the low countries because the Geographical forest of the Ardennes would prove to be impossible for the German Machinery to pass through it and this with over confidence from their Government, they were defeated in 46 days just because the Germans exploit their Geography" _Yukari then explains as she knew a lot of it. _

"I didn't understand it but okay…" _Elizabeth then feels a little bit of dizziness as she heard some complicated stuff to Yukari as she was having a "Maginot High". _

_Meanwhile Azusa was on the back of group as she was memorizing something on the back of her head, sitting on top of the M3's rear hull as she concentrates. _

_Ana then realizes her and decided to approach her, calling her attention as she softly pulls her uniform. _

"Yes, Ana?"

"What are you doing?" _Ana was curious as Azusa was holding a book. _

"Oh, I was memorizing something, don't mind it..."

"Okay…"

"Something the matter, Ana?"

"Azusa, are you nervous for today's match?"

"Huh? What did you ask about that?"

_Ana just looks at her as she knows that something was off, eventually Azusa tells the truth as she finally confronts her. _

"Yes… I'm anxious for today's match…"

"Why?"

"Well, it is because I don't want to be a hindrance to our Senpais, they been doing so much for us and we couldn't anything, we even deserted them during the match against St. Gloriana… I don't want to repeat that again… No, never!"

"No, you're not a hindrance" _Miho stated as she approaches Azusa and Ana. _

"But I am… we been doing nothing but making both you and Senpai Eirian a lot of stress because of us…" _Azusa then lowers her head. _

"What kind of a stupid joke is that?" _The voice of Eirian then startled her as she then looks over to Miho as Eirian was behind her. _

"Enough with the pitiful statement, nothing would change if you continue to do that" _Eirian belittles her emotions. _

"But we been a hindrance to yo-"

"Enough!"

"Listen, I'm not really good at these stuff, but whatever you were thinking is utterly wrong and nonsense… You're a valuable asset and a team member to us, so quit with the yapping and change it"

"Actions speaks louder than words…" _He quoted, causing Azusa's tears to streak on her face as she hides her face immediately and wipes it. _

"Bad, Senpai…" _Ana in her apathetic voice then comments him as he made Azusa cry. _

"Whatever… Hey, Azusa!"

"Yes?" _As she finally looks at him. _

"You're a member of Oarai's Rabbit Team, everyone here believes you, keep that in mind" _Eirian then turns around as he went back to meet again his team, leaving those reminders to Azusa as she looks at Eirian before looking to Miho as Miho was simply smiling. _

"That's Eirian for you, trying to be cold but actually a good person" _Miho then approaches her and gives her a pat. _

"I believe in you, Eirian believes in you, everyone believes in you, so do your best, okay?"

"Hai! We'll do our best, Senpai Nishizumi!" _Azusa then finally smiles at her. _

"All right everyone! If we lost again this time, there's gonna be a lovely punishment game as a present!" _Anzu was cheeky as ever while the others are distress from her. _

"This includes the boys also…" _Momo added. _

"Not again!" _Kojiro's voice can be heard on the distance. _

"Finally, our second match… huh…" _Momo was eagerly to win as she clenched her hand. _

"Why the face becoming stiff, Momo?" _Kojiro then asks to her. _

"S… Sorry"

"It's fine"

_Then they saw an approaching vehicle over the distance, a 6-wheeled all-terrain vehicle, the French Laffly S15 as it slowly approaches the group. _

_The vehicle stops right in front of them before Fondue and Éclair descends from it. _

"Say, is that the Commander of Maginot Girls' Academy?" _Elizabeth asks to Yukari. _

"I guess so…"

"But I heard some rumors that they changed Commander recently" _Yukari stated as her voice was still in doubt. _

"Why is that?"

"I don't know…"

"Greetings! It seems apparent that this is our very first time meeting each other, my name is Éclair, and I am the Commander of Maginot Girls Academy"

"I'm Anzu Kadotani, the Student Council President of Oarai Acadeny"

"I'm Kawashima, PR. We appreciate you letting us use your training field"

"Momo… can you do it gently next time" _Yuzu whispers._

"Likewise" _Éclair just smiles at them. _

"But there are two things I'd like to know though… first at all, is it true that Oarai Senshadou has a boy within the ranks, and second is there a Commander here that has the surname of Nishizumi?"

"Hai! Miss Nishizumi! Kouhai!" _Anzu just nods at her before she calls out both Eirian and Miho. _

"Something the matter, Prez?" _Miho then approaches her as Eirian was nowhere to be seen for the moment. _

_Éclair then catches the attention of Miho and suddenly Miho then approaches her. _

"Uhm, I'm Miho Nishizumi, the commander"

_A second of silence ensues, awkwardness fills atmosphere as Éclair admires the beauty of a Nishizumi as she was in awe. _

"What's up between those two?" _Natsuki asks to Haru as it then catches the attention of Eirian as he was about to descend from his tank. _

"I'm Éclair, Commader of Maginot Girls Academy, and it's an honour to think that I'd get to meet somebody of the Nishizumi-style" _This causes Miho to feel uneasy around her. _

"I shall do it with all of my might today" _She offers her hand for a handshake. _

_Miho just looks at her at first before she finally gives in and takes the offer as both of them shake each other's hand. _

"The pleasure is mine!" _She said with a smile on her face. _

_Eirian then slowly approaches Anzu from behind, causing Fondue to notice him before alerting it to Éclair. _

"Miss Éclair, it seems that boy is part of their team as well" _Fondue whispers to Éclair, causing Éclair to look over to Eirian on the distance. _

"She's looking at me…" _Eirian feel a sudden sharp stare at him as he told it to Anzu. _

"She's the Commander of Maginot Girls Academy, Éclair…"

"You must be the vice-commander of Oarai, does it not?" _Éclair then turns his attention towards her as he caught his eyes. _

"Hai, I'm Eirian Haiiro. Nice to meet you" _Eirian then approaches Éclair as a result. _

"Never I haven't thought that boys are allowed to join Senshadou until now…"

"Me either… but I guess that's how the modernization policy goes…" _Eirian rubs his head. _

"Indeed, but either way, I won't go down easily" _She then offers him a handshake as well. _

"Likewise, and thanks to you, we will taste Oarai's first victory" _Eirian smirks as he shakes her hand. _

"Well then, have a nice day…" _Éclair bids a farewell before she and Fondue went back to their vehicle and drives away. _

"She's rather quite dignified" _Hana said to Miho in which Miho agrees on her. _

"I heard that the Commander was a second year student" _Momo asserted in doubt. _

"Then she's in the same grade as both Nishizumi and Haiiro then" _Yuzu then said much for their surprise about Éclair._

"And that means she should be a worthy opponent then?" _As Anzu becomes hype about the upcoming match against Éclair and Maginot._

* * *

"So how was it?" _Fondue asks. _

"Pardon?"

"With your meeting with your admired Nishizumi-style?"

"Miss Fondue, stop it with that way of talking" _Éclair then feels irritated from her. _

"I'm sorry, Ma'am" _Fondue just giggles. _

"The truth is… I don't know why but this Nishizumi is certainly different from both Shiho Nishizumi and Maho Nishizumi, She's not to be made light of, and that's why She's quite the adversary!" _Éclair then feels determined as she clenched her hands. _

"Is that so? Then how about the other one?"

"You mean Eirian? Well, it's quite interesting to see a boy on their team… but… it's quite strange that he didn't introduced himself as a Wittmann"

"So you're saying that he's hiding something?"

"Probably… But I guess we need to fallow what his Brother's wishes then"

"What's that wish again?"

"The concept of **_Panzerkraft_**..." _She smiles. _

* * *

"Everyone listen up! Nishzumi here will now explain the strategy!" _Momo then calls out the whole groups' attention. _

"Eh?!"

"Yo! Commander Nishizumi! What's the plan?" _Anzu's voice was heard from the crowd. _

"You can do it, Nishizumi-dono!" _Her team then cheers her. _

"Unlike the fight of St. Gloriana, the battlefield this time will be the training field of Maginot, in other words, the Maginot holds the advantage in terrain" _She explains while Eirian just stood right beside her. _

"If you take a look at the previous fights of Maginot, then they have a stationary defense strategy as a foundation where heavy tanks form the center and light tanks strengthen the outside" _She added. _

"Their Tanks are not the same level as St. Gloriana but all of them have excellent Armor thickness, making them compatible in Defense warfare" _Eirian then explains._

"This means we have to cooperate with each other, keep communication secret, and keep moving constantly, and aim for the enemies' weak points" _Miho points out._

"The sides, the rear, or even the engine block" _Eirian added. _

"Then that means we just gotta keep circling them and shoot their flanks, correct?" _Anzu asks. _

"Right"

"All right! Then it's decided, Miss Nishizumi and Kouhai, what's the operation name this time?"

"Our President sure loves operation names…" _Yukari just giggles. _

"How about Operation Amiami, We'll catch the enemy after entangling them in an encirclement net" _Miho suggested after she remembered something from watching Boko episodes. _

"Another Boko name operation… how amazing" _Eirian mumbled as he couldn't do anything but to go with the flow. _

"Alright listen up, everyone! This time it will b annihilation battle just like the last time, so don't get careless even after taking out a tank!" _Momo shouted._

"Then if that's the case, then everyone mounts up!"

"Roger!"

* * *

"Everyone will go according to plan, there is no mistake that Oarai has more firepower than us, especially be wary of their StuG III" _Éclair explains. _

"First we set up an encampment with four tanks while utilizing the terrain, deployment will be at point W3" _She further added. _

"A defensive formation, are you fine with that?" _One of her teammates asks. _

"I said with four tanks though" _Éclair smirks as she has a plan in mind. _

"So what if Oarai thinks that we are the same as the previous Maginot Girls Academy?" _She further asks. _

"Then should we not correct that misconception then?" _Éclair declares. _

_The sound of speakers from the distance started speak, claiming that the match will start in a span of few minutes from now. _

"Everyone mount your vehicles!"

"Roger!"

_Now all of them waited for the sound of declaration to the match, a sound of artillery fire was heard at the center of the field, an explosion on the seen visible at both teams as the speakers once again started speak, declaring that the match was now about to start. _

"Begin the match!" _The speakers announced. _

"Maginot! _En avant! (Forward)"_

"Oarai! _Panzer vor!" _

* * *

**Enjoy the story, feel free to review it, and give a heart and fallow it as it makes me very happy :)**

**Our next chapter is Oarai Academy against Maginot Girls' Academy so stay tune for that ;) **

**Always remember, Ever expanding-World building- thanks to all-Panzer vor :)**


	13. Chapter 12 - A Fierce battle!

Chapter 12: "A Fierce fight between Oarai and Maginot!"

_An artillery fire was heard in the distance before an explosion lights up the sky, causing the match between Oarai Academy and Maginot Girls' Academy to begin. But on the distant, on top of a summit of Maginot's gentle hill were two unexpected guests from another school that will spectate the ongoing fight as they were having a lovely picnic as it was already their Tea-Time._

"Miss Darjeeling, may I ask something?" _Pekoe then spoke out as she can hear the explosion in the distance._

"Speak, dear" _Darjeeling asks as her cup was being filled by Pekoe's kettle._

"Haven't we already fulfilled Sir Rommel's wish with us winning the match, then what are we doing here?"

"One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all" _Darjeeling then drops a quote to Pekoe as she takes a sip from her teacup._

"Fights on his own terms?" _Pekoe was completely puzzled_.

"Yes, Oarai Academy has gained my attention and interests, and what way to know them is by observing them in the battlefield" _Darjeeling explains. _

"But what makes Oarai special? Apart from the Co-ed system of course" _Pekoe continuous to asks. _

"Simple, an opportunity for both of them"

"Them?"

"Yes, one has the route to find its way, while the other has the chance to redeem itself"

_Pekoe then slowly processes it before she finally understands what she said to her which it causes her smile in response of learning Darjeeling's intentions. _

"My reasons are clear, and I support them, but there is this doubt that I'm currently feeling..."

"What is it, Miss Darjeeling?"

"Is that one of them will never reach that dream as they will have met the consequences of their actions, dear"

"Oh... But let us do our best and support them whatever we can!" _Pekoe became determined, causing Darjeeling then chuckles in return, making her embarrass. _

"As long as we can help them whatever we can" _Darjeeling then smiles back at her._

_Then the sound of a vehicle engine hurling towards at them then catches their attention as they turned around their heads, they then saw utter Black Mercedes-Benz 770 from the distance as it approaches them. _

"Are we expecting any visitors, Miss Darjeeling?"

"I didn't think so until now..."

_The Mercedes then stops right behind them, soon three people wearing in grey uniform that is foreign for both the Royal girls then exited the Mercedes, one of them was a particular person that knows the Royal Girls as he greets them with a quirky smile on his face. _

"The Commander of St. Gloriana's Senshadou team and her assistant. Shouldn't you girls be preparing the upcoming lottery next week?"

"And shouldn't the Fuehrer of a German School be doing his paper works?"

"Very funny, Darjeeling"

"That same goes to you, Herr Rommel"

"I don't like the formalities when I'm outside JIGA, and you know that"

"Well, St. Gloriana's motto is Elegant at all times, so please keep in mind that I'm always formal to everyone" _Darjeeling reminded. _

"Right, but what brings you here to a private training match?"

"We're simply interested at watching them with their current peculiar situations I would say"

"Both schools have something on their sleeves, do they not?"

"Well, Maginot's Commander is completely new, and Oarai has a Co-ed leadership now"

"Who would have thought than your younger brother there is the vice-overall Commander of Oarai Academy, alongside with a Nishizumi" _She added._

"You know what they say. An enemy of his enemy is his friend in these circumstances"

"I'm just totally intrigued by him, I thought he was a merciless Commander like you, but he was more different, in a way that makes me speculate that his doing it because he's hiding something" _She then looks at Rommel. _

"Hiding? No. Merciless? Kind of. Different compared to last year? Absolutely yes but what would you expect from someone like him, Eirian is always an unpredictable individual even at the start"

"If that is the case then is the reason of being unpredictable the main cause of him transferring to Oarai Academy?"

"Well, yes_" Rommel then showed his usual quirky smile again at her._

"I doubt it" _She looks at him, suspiciously._

"Well, that's your opinion, but there's nothing hiding in the curtains, Darjeeling. I assure you that"

"For a man whose nickname is the 'Joker' it is hard to believe at you, Herr Rommel"

"Maybe, maybe not. But that concludes our meeting here, goodbye for now, Darjeeling" _He bids a farewell to them with that same smile again. _

_A male student with a medium brownish messy hair with dark brown eyes while the other one is a female student in crimson red hair, tied in a twin-tail fashion with bright brown eyes, stood like bodyguards as they waited Rommel to return to them. _

"Alright. Agni, we should better head out now, and also, Kotori"

"Hai, Fuehrer?"

"I want you to stay here for now and watch the ongoing match on my behalf"

"Nani?! You both are leaving me, again?!"

"We're not gonna leave you, Kotori. Since when we ever abandoned you?"

"Like multiple times during my training sessions back in JIGA!"

"Alright that was a good point, but we promise we will retrieve you later, since I don't want people to file a case to me of a person missing in action during an expedition on Maginot's ground..." Rommel then promises as he gives a shrug.

"Take Rommel's word, Kotori" Agni tries to assure her with that innocent smile on his face as he holds her shoulder.

"Fine! But if you two lie to me again I'll make your lives miserable back in _Peter Strasser_" _She crossed her arms as she finally gives in for Rommel's disbelief action. _

"Hai, Hai... We won't fail you" _Rommel scoffs at it before the engine starts again._

_The wheels begin the move before and eventually the black Mercedes then slowly disappears from Kotori's line of sight. _

"Bunch of dummies, leaving a girl behind..." _She mumbled. _

"I swear if they continue to treat me like this, I'm eating their _Bratwursts_ next time!" _She then yelled out in the open without her even realizing that Darjeeling and Pekoe were still there. _

"You okay over there?" _Darjeeling then asks._

"Hai!" _She immediately maintains her composure before she hides her face in embarrassment. _

"It's okay, but how about you join us and have some tea with us" _Darjeeling then offers her a spot as she was very generous. _

"Alright! Thank you very much" _She immediately went to normal as she cheerfully accepts Darjeeling's offer. _

"It's quite strange that Rommel decided to abandon you here, miss?"

"Kotori! and it's quite fine, they always did that to me back when I was still a newbie" _She giggles. _

"Darjeeling and she's Pekoe but that's horrible, aren't you mad at them?"

"Why would I? I don't like hating someone and besides, they do it as for fun and I'm used to it"

"But that doesn't mean they can treat you like that!" _Pekoe then stated out of irritation. _

"Pekoe, mind your manners"

"Sorry"

"It's fine actually, both Rommel and Agni are kind people so no worries_" Kotori explains with a smile on her face._

"If that is what you say so, and here have some tea" _Pekoe then offers her a tea from her kettle in which Kotori happily complies and offered her teacup that she borrowed from Darjeeling_.

"Please enjoy St. Gloriana's finest tea"

"I will!" _Kotori then takes a sip as immediately she gives her feedback to them with a wide peculiar smile on her face._

"It tastes like hot leaf juice..."

"So you dislike the tastes of Darjeeling then, does this mean that you don't like tea or-"

"I'm not actually a Tea-person but I do like my Senpai's tea, it's just superb!"

"By superb, you mean more delicious than a hot leaf juice?"

"Hai! It's just the best!"

"May I ask, is this Senpai of yours is part of a Tea-Group?" _Pekoe asks out of curiosity as she was interested by Kotori's Senpai. _

"I don't think so?" _Kotori was unsure as she started to wonder it also._

"I haven't asked him that ever since he left JIGA a while now..."

"I'm sorry Miss Kotori, it's so thoughtless of me to asks that to you"

"It's fine, Miss Pekoe. I can assure you that I'm fine" _She stated. _

"If it is okay, Miss Kotori, but can I learn the name of your Senpai?" _Darjeeling then asks to her out of the blue as she thought of someone before she even asks that question to her. _

"Hai! His name is Eirian, Eirian Braun Wittmann-Haiiro"

* * *

"Achoo!" _Eirian then sneezes as he felt a shiver on his spines after he popped his head out from the hatch._

"God Bless you!" _Elizabeth then expresses her concern to him. _

"You alright, Commander?" _Haru then looks at him as he was worried. _

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me" _Eirian assures him with a faint smile on his face. _

"Just use a damn handkerchief next time, we don't want to get startled by an unhealthy Commander" _Alina then reminded him as she felt irritated suddenly. _

"That's new of you, Alina" _Natsuki giggles. _

"Shut up!"

_Eirian then shows a warm smile at them as he finds his team to be quite an interesting group of crewmates, he received and commanded, after that, he decided to go back on track and pops out his head again into the open. _

"So, Eirian. What's our plan again?" _Elizabeth asks. _

"Our plan is to encircle Maginot's defensive line. We will take the center and divert their attention to us while the rest encircles them" He explained as he saw the other tanks behind him.

"What's the operation name?" _She further asks. _

"Miho calls it Operation Ami-Ami..."

"Seriously, of all the names she could have use, she picks the most peculiar of all of them" He mumbled as he has a tendency at not liking any Boko related implementation on the battlefield.

"Fox team, are you there?" _The voice of Miho then startles Eirian. _

"Hai, this is Fox team"

"I just received a word from Yukari, I think the information would suffice you on this match"

"Alright, what is it?" _Eirian was both confuse and intrigue by it._

"Their inventory from what you said to Miss President is confirmed to be correct"

"Their current compositions are 3 Renault R35s, 2 Somua S35 equipped with the SA38, and 1 Char Bis"

"Then the Somua can now penetrate over 40mm of armor at 500 meters with that SA38 then"

"Hai, and that means that we're quite the disadvantageous here"

"You could say that, but against St. Gloriana's, we were dead from the start already" _Eirian then giggles as he tries to lighten her mood. _

"And besides, we have the StuG III here, it can penetrate over 85mm of armor at a distant of 1000 meters" _He added. _

"Yes, but Maginot should be aware of that"

"And I think that they're also gonna build a defensive encampment on top of that"

"You are quite right about that also" _Eirian sighs._

"Alright, I'll inform this to the others as well, thanks for the information, Miho"

"Hai! No problem, Eirian"

"Fox team, out"

_Eirian then switches the channel on his throat mic before he pushed the button again, opening the team channel as he informs the rest of his team._

* * *

_On top of a hill on the distant was Éclair's Somua S35 with an insignia of a blue spade on the turret's cheek. She was using the binoculars as she observes the approaching opponents. _

"Oarai's tanks are coming this way"

"Just like what we intended them to do" _She then shows a smirk on her face as she lowered her binoculars. _

"Contact Clubs _Blanc _and _Rogue_! Start with Operation Alain!" _Éclair ordered through her wired throat mic before she received the word "Compris" _(Understood)_ from them. _

"Madam Éclair, all tanks have finished preparations for firing!" _Her teams' Radio operator announced to her. _

"We're ready when you are!" _She further added. _

"Alright then. Everyone, prepare to fire!"

_Éclair can hear the shells from the other tanks being loaded into their gun chambers, with a shout of them announcing that the loading was now complete, Éclair then drop the word. _

"_Feu!_ (Fire)"

_One by one, the sound of explosion propelling its shell then started to fill up the air as bombardment started to begin. _

"Oarai Academy, let us start our dance!"

* * *

_From the distance, both Miho and Eirian can see the faint Muzzle brake from the hills in front of them as the ground rocks their tanks up, dusts and dirt then emerges out in the open as they were experiencing a bombardment. _

"They've started firing!" _Elizabeth said through her own throat mic. _

"No joke, Sherlock!" _Eirian then went inside as things was getting dangerous now. _

"Natsuki! Return them the favor, will you"

"Got it!" _Natsuki then manned up the gun before she sends a round towards the entrenched tanks of Maginot. _

"Everyone, don't panic, it's just a warming shot! Keep going" _Miho then announces on their radios. _

"But aren't we being aimed at by the enemies?" _Azusa then asks through the channel. _

"We are, but we need to close the gap! Then spread out simultaneously with Maginot's next volley and start Operation Ami-Ami!" _Miho answered._

* * *

"Interesting… To panic and return fire from this little bombardment, it's almost like she doesn't have control over her team" _Éclair mumbles herself as he puts her attention on her team. _

"Madam Éclair, Oarai has entered our shooting range!"

"_Compris!" _

"That said, it used to be that way here as well…" _She further mumbles to herself before she started to command her team again. _

"All Tanks, take aim!"

_After another session of shells being loaded on their chambers, Éclair ordered them to fire again. _

_The volley of shells started to ensue again as Miho finally takes up command to them._

* * *

"Everyone! Spread out!" _She ordered them as another bombardment greets the team. _

"Roger that!"

"Got it Commander!"

"Affirmative, Miho"

_They then started to spread out as they continue on the plan of Operation Ami-Ami, but Miho has doubts as suspects that something is wrong as she tries to contact Eirian again. _

"Eirian, I need your help"

"This is Eirian. What do you need, Miho?"

"Did you remember the records about Maginot's last match against Saunders?"

"I do, and why?"

"I'm feeling that something is wrong, it feels like we're heading for a trap or some sort"

"Plausible, but do you have evidence on that?"

"Well, their tactics now are being kind of cheap, and we never saw them using it before…"

"Now that you mentioned it, it is kind of strange…" _Eirian then remembers something from earlier. _

"Wait… Their Commander is new right?" _Eirian then immediately asks as he suspects something._

"Hai, and what about it?"

"Nothing, but let's stay cautious for now"

* * *

"Intercept each of them!" _Éclair ordered them as the gap was closing in. _

"_Compris!"_

_The battlefield was getting seriously intense around the hills as Oarai slowly advances towards the Maginot's defensive line. _

"Oarai is fallowing the theory by setting up an encirclement and that's the strategy Maginot's been severely beaten by thus far…" _Éclair then reloaded another shell into the chamber before firing it towards the approaching Panzer IV. _

"Rear guard! Make sure not to let them aim at our rear!" _Éclair then orders Fondue's team as she opened her throat mic again._

"_Compris Madam!" _

_Though Maginot has the high ground and quite the defensive entrenchment, they only have one problem and that is that they're a sitting duck on a middle of an open field without any cover and this disadvantage was soon realized by Hippo team as they started to assault them from the distance. _

_A round coming from the east then startles Éclair as the shell landed right next to them, causing an explosion that interrupts her command as the Somua S35 felt the intense shockwave. _

"What was that?!"

"Madam Éclair, enemy at 10 o'clock!"

_Éclair then looks outside and saw a dark silhouette at the distance, smoke slowly fades away from its muzzle and the sight of a StuG III was then seen visible from the eyes of a surprised Éclair. _

"The Assault III is this far at the rear!?" _Another round was heading towards her position, but luckily it manages to dodge its target as it would be a fatal shot to them. _

"_Maird!_ They're taking advantage of that StuG III of theirs!"

"Well then Miss Commander, I wonder what's our next course of plan?" _Her radio starts to speak up._

* * *

"The enemy's not moving! So how about aiming them once again?" _Caesar then looks at Saemonza as she reloads another shell into the chamber. _

"I know that, Caesar!"

"Round reloaded, preparing for fire!"

"Firing!" _Another round was again released from the StuG III._

* * *

_The round landed right next to Éclair's tank; the shell's shockwave causes her team to panic. _

"How shameful. Please try no to scream in my tank!" _Éclair giggles. _

"But Madam! We are under heavy attack from Oarai" _Her colleague to says to her as she confused. _

"Then we can take the opportunity and show our Esprit to them!"

"_Compris!" Maginot started to fight back as they started to exchange shots with Oarai's team._

* * *

"Isn't this somehow going for us?" _Aya then asks her subordinates as everything was going according to their plan. _

"Maybe… They really aren't that strong compared to St. Gloriana though" _Azusa replies. _

_Meanwhile Ana was sitting on her seat, skeptical as everything was going smoothly for them. _

"Why do I feel like something is wrong…" _She then said it to her team. _

"What do you mean?" _Azusa then asks. _

"I can't say for certain… but definitely something is wrong here…"

_The encirclement continuous to tighten itself up, closing the gap between Oarai and Maginot by few meters every second passes, neither side has no casualties and it seems apparent that Oarai is taking the lead here. _

"Overall, we're pushing them without any hindrance nor obstacles, just some slight resistant from them" _Yuzu then said to Anzu as they keep pressing on. _

"Yup, so keep pushing Yuzu!"

"If we continue to do this, surely we're gonna win this for sure!" _Momo then gets hyped up. _

_Another shot was again fired from the short barrel of Miho's Panzer IV as it straight went towards the cheeks of Éclair's Somua, but it only managed to scratch the surface of it. _

"As expected of the enemy's armor from this distance, it's quite the tough to penetrate it from here" _Yukari explains. _

"But doesn't this feel kind of nice?"

"What do you mean by that, Saori?"

"We're actually winning, and this only showed that our teamwork is improving" _Saori then shows a smile on her face. _

_The match was beginning to become a one-sided victory as Oarai is now closing the gap as its tanks can see the Maginot entrenched tanks on top of the hill, exchanged shots still ensues but for some reason, the rear flank of Maginot is still heavily fortified and does not allow any Oarai tanks to take hold of it. _

_While team fox is carrying our its designated tasks, Eirian started to feel skeptical as they approach the summit of the hill. _

"Cheap tricks, new Commander, and an entrenched defensive line at the beginning… this is starting to get suspicious…"

"Ahm, hey Eirian, I couldn't stop to wonder, but how many does Maginot currently field on this match?" _Elizabeth then asks as she found there was only four tanks in front of them. _

"6 tanks, but we haven't…" _Eirian then realizes it before he quickly turned on his throat mic. _

"Everyone! Be on alert, Maginot's is planning somethin-"

_The sound of an explosion at Hippo's team location causes a great disturbance to Eirian, he quickly pops out his head and saw a large dark smoke coming from the location of Hippo team. _

"Hippo team, are you there?!" _Elizabeth then asks as she finally opened her radio again._

* * *

"Alright. Girls, start Operation Alain!" _Éclair orders the group while her tank reverses in full throttle, leaving the trench before it started to chase down the scattered tanks of Oarai. _

"_Compris!"_ _They also started to chase down the scattered tanks as well. _

"It's no use, Elizabeth. Commander, we need to help Hippo team or else we're screwed on this match!" _Alina shouted. _

"Got it! Miho, I'm pursuing to help Hippo team" _Eirian pushed the button on his throat mic as he saw the Maginot tanks on the distance. _

"Alright, just take care of yourself"

"Got it. Fox team, out"

* * *

"Heart _Bleu_, Diamond _Bleu_, chase that Lee. Club _Bleu_, you're accompanying me at pursuing their 38(T)" _Éclair then started to split their forces as they cover the east and western flank of the Hill._

* * *

"Captain Nishizumi, two tanks are chasing Turtle team" _The Commander of Duck team, Noriko, informed to Miho as they fallowed the chase from the distance. _

"Can you tell me what's your location is?"

"We're going through point N12 now!"

"Alright, keep them occupied for now"

"Hai! Captain Nishizumi"

"Saori, what's the position of both the StuG III and the Panzer III?"

"They're at 300 meters at our southeast"

"That's good, tell them to open their channel because we're gonna start another Operation again"

_Saori then informs it through the radio before Miho turns on her throat mic. _

"Everyone! It's almost time, begin Operation Baton-touch!"

"Alright team, divert the attention of one of their tanks to us" _Eirian then went inside on his tank as he takes out the map, according to what he knows from the current situation, Maginot splits their tanks in an even amount of teams as they chased down the StuG, the Panzer 38, and the M3 Lee. With the Type 89B accompanies the 38 while the Panzer IV chases down the aggressors from the M3 Lee. _

"Commander, two of them are chasing down the Assault 3!" _Alina informs to him as she saw the approaching StuG III coming their way. _

"Natsuki, Elizabeth. Prepare to divert them!"

"Got it!" _Elizabeth takes up the stationary machine gun in front of her while Natsuki started to use her periscope. _

"Wait for my signal!" _Eirian then gestures them to hold for a little longer as the Panzer III was now about to bypass them. _

_The Panzer III was now in close proximity as Eirian drops the command, the machine gun lights up while a shot was fired from the main armament of the Panzer III, one of the Renault R35 then catches the barrage of Elizabeth's Machine gun as they felt irritated before they decided to chase the Panzer III while the other R35 continuous to chase the M3 Lee. _

"We got their attention!" _Haru then closes his hatch after he informed the result to Eirian. _

"That's good, just like what we plan" _Eirian nods at him in return before opening his throat mic again as he tries to contact Miho._

"Miho, our task is complete as one of their R35 is chasing us, we will handle them alone so continue with your plan"

"Alright, good luck, Eirian"

_Meanwhile as Eirian's tank went to the distant, Miho and the others continue their Operation Baton-Touch without a problem and as the climax reaches, it was time that they take the initiative._

* * *

"Madam Éclair! Our enemies are joining together!" _The radio operator from the other side of the hill informs Éclair as she focuses on chasing down the Panzer 38(T)_

"Very well, start aiming the M3 after it regroups from the rest" _Éclair commanded as the M3 Lee is slowly approaching the Panzer 39(T) and the Type 89. _

"That M3 Lee has a death wish then, all gunners, prepare to fire!"

_The M3 then straight went ahead and bypassed its team, causing confusion to Éclair as it did not regroup with the others and instead going towards at them with their 75mm straight point towards at one of their tanks. _

"It's a feint?!"

_The 75mm from the M3 started to fire towards Éclair's tank, it was an HE round as it exploded on the side hull of Éclair's tank. _

"An HE shell?!"

* * *

"Hana, target their Somua right away!" _Miho's order as they continue to hit Éclair's tank while on the process of bypassing them._

* * *

"This situation is giving me a headache now, Club _Bleu_, disengage as we need to regroup, now!" _Éclair orders a retreat as 4 Oarai tanks are about to pin them down. _

"Roger that!" _They started to retreat by bypassing the 3 Oarai tanks but as soon they leave the area, a stationed StuG III was already aiming at them from the distance and before any actions were taking from Éclair's side, a shell was unleashed from the StuG III, taking out Éclair's accompanied tank with a single shot. Making the matc 6, will Oarai Academy wins this one, or will Maginot finally claim the victory they all wanted to have?_

* * *

**I'm hope you viewers like this chapter. Like it, heart it, and feel free to put your reviews on it as it is the driving for me to continue writing this so once again, enjoy the chapter :)**

**World Building, forever changing, thanks to all, Panzer vor. **


	14. Chapter 13 - The Battle ensues!

Chapter 13: "The Battle ensues!"

"Target locked; shell loaded. Fire!" _Erwin drops the order, causing their gunner, Saemonza to pull the trigger from her post. _

_A round was fired from the 7.5 cm KwK L/43. Its projectile flew from the air for few seconds until it hits its designated target, sort of. _

_The area fills itself with a dark smoke as one of Éclair's fellow tank was deemed immobilize as the StuG III took it out with one mighty shot. _

"Clubs _Bleu_! Are you okay?" _Éclair immediately asks, her face was worried as the tank sacrifices itself for the sake of Éclair's continuation of the match. _

"We're fine here, Madam" _Her subordinate responded as Éclair's radio started to speak up, assuring Éclair as she lets a sigh of relief. _

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain; I will guarantee that…"

"Madam, the StuG III is already on our sights!" _The radio started to speak up again as Éclair attempts to flee in the area. _

"Shoot them down, Clubs _Blanc!" _

_A round from a Somua R35 then fired at the distance, meters behind from the position of the StuG III, the round went straight to the ground before exploding just few inches away from the last position of the StuG III as it tries to changes its position, the explosion rocks the Assault III for a short amount of time._

"Fall back!" _Caesar instructed. _

"_Bon sang! _(Damn it!)"

"Clubs _Blanc_, what happened?"

"Sniping the StuG III has failed! I beg your pardon by they're now fleeing!"

"We'll gonna continue to pursuit the StuG III, Madam!" _The R35 then started to chase down the lonely Assault III. _

"It's already in close proximity yet you still didn't manage to hit it" _She mutters in frustration. _

"Alright, just don't get caught from one of their traps, though I haven't seen their Panzer III for a while now…"

_The R35 then started to chase the StuG III, while both the Volleyball team and Student Council decided to take their part and help with Miho's Operation. _

"President, I think we should help out the StuG III" _Kojiro suggested as they were still about to bypass the approaching StuG III ahead of them._

"Should we ask for the Volleyball team for assistance?" _Anzu asks in return. _

"I think it's the only way we can take them out" _He answered back. _

"Then that sounds like a plan then, Volleyball team, are you there?"

"Yes, this is Captain Noriko Isobe"

"We would like your help at taking that pursuer of our Assault III, care to help us?"

"I like the sound of that, so where do we start then?" _Noriko then became interested. _

"Not until we got a scope on them. Momo, can you aim at the advancing R35?"

"Please don't refer me as Momo, Miss President… But sure" _Momo then started to use her gunner's periscope as the turret points its barrel towards the StuG III. _

"Hey, Hippo team! Just drive straight so we won't have a friendly fire here" _Anzu then reminds them as she took a bite at her favorite snack in a middle of a heated match. _

"Understood!"

_As the R35 continues to tail the StuG III, it didn't have the chance to inspect its surroundings and when both the Type 89 and 38(T) bypassed the StuG III, it was already doom for that tank. _

"_Merde!_"

"Hit them, now!" _Anzu commanded the Type 89. _

"Firing!" _The 57mm from the Type 89 then fires its standard round towards the unguard R35 as it landed directly at its threads, causing the threads to immediately break in half, turning the tank sideways as its side was now exposed as the 38(T) was about to deliver its final shot. _

"Go hit it, Momo!"

_Momo focuses on the periscope and when the arrow was pointed at the weak spot of the R35 she pulled the trigger, unleashing a APCBC round into the side hull at point black range, hitting its target with ease as the shell penetrated through the side and took out the R35 without any problems._

_Smoke appears from its back and soon a white flag emerged from the side hull of it, making it the second tank to be immobilized from Oarai. _

"The Student Council did it!" _Yukari reacted in happiness as she saw the smoking Renault R35 on the distance. _

"We did it! President!" _Momo was awfully happy as it was the first time, she managed to hit her target as it was the first tank she took down. _

"I give you a pat on the back, but we're still in a middle of match" _Anzu giggles. _

"You did it, Momo!" _Yuzu then starts to congratulate her. _

"I did it!"

"Don't get carried away just because you took out one enemy tank, Momo" _Kojiro speaks in antagonistic way which it makes Momo irritated from him very immediately. _

"Oh, just shut up!"

"Everyone! It's still not over yet! All we did is we took out two tanks so don't get carried away!" _Miho reminded them as their radios started to light up with a chatter. _

"Roger that!" _All of them reply. _

"The surprise attack failed too… and to lose such a close competition in mobile warfare on top of it…" _Éclair is starting to have a chronic stomachache in the middle of the battle again, causing her to lose a bit sense of leadership and confidence as she holds her stomach in pain, holding out the agony as it was getting to her by every second has passes._

* * *

_Meanwhile outside the combat field is Rommel watching the ongoing match via the large Monitor wagon with a young Maginot Student beside him, drinking some delicious tea while Agni was fixing the engine of their black Mercedes in the distance. _

"First at all, the tea is very delicious, and second, it seems your little Éclair over there is having a difficult time at handling Oarai Academy in terms of Mobile Warfare… Do she not?"

_The student of Maginot then turns her head to him as she continues to sip down her tea as she also agrees on Rommel for that. _

"Maginot tanks are capable at defensive strategies, but Éclair's _St. Cyr style_ is still in the infant stage and needs more time to develop, but seeing as this match goes, I couldn't say that we're easily done for today" _She gives Rommel a smile in return._

"I didn't say that I have doubts on your team, but you left Éclair there without any advices whatsoever, it's kind of unfair if you think about it"

"Great ambition is the passion of a great character"

"Napoleon Bonaparte? But what gives you the idea of that to Éclair?"

"Éclair didn't want to lose again against her opponents, her insistence in changing the traditions of Maginot is quite awfully a troublesome to her Senpais, but she is still facing forward nonetheless, she didn't hold back for Maginot's past, she is something that Maginot didn't want, but she is Maginot's need in order for Maginot to win at the upcoming tournament" _She explains. _

"Even though you're not Maginot's Overall Commander anymore, you can still give a one-of-a-heck-speech that every man would willing to start a revolution if you ever asks so" _Rommel chuckles as he puts down the tea cup on the table. _

"Enough with the flatters, Miamoto" _She was flattered from her old friend. _

"So, Madeleine. You still think that Maginot has a chance against Oarai now with both a Nishizumi and my little brother commanding them?"

"You said earlier that you didn't doubt Maginot's leadership, but it seems you spoke way too early then"

"Your opponent's commanders are both Elites from their previous schools, yet you still see your team as the same league as them…"

"Do not underestimate Éclair doctrine, though it is in the infant stage, the day is still young, and the match can still develop on Maginot's favor"

"Then the one who loses must treat the other's wine, I heard that Maginot has the finest wine among the others"

"You sure ahead of yourself…" _She rebukes. _

"I think you already know that" _Rommel chuckled before he sips on his tea, watching the ongoing match as things were about to turn interesting for both sides._

* * *

"What?! The enemy has only 4 tanks left?!" _Eirian was very surprised as he heard the news from Miho herself as they were still being chased by the R35. _

"Hai. But where exactly is your position, Eirian?"

"I am going towards the forest in order to take this single R35 out" _He turned his head as he was greeted by the continuous firing of the R35 at his tank. _

"Alright, I believe you can handle it, right?"

"I can assure you that we can handle it, just focus on your duty over there"

"Alright then, _Ankou_ team, out"

"Listen up, here's our plan, we will straight go to the forest and try to serpentine while dodging both their shells and the trees, and once we met the opportunity I want this tank to turn around, aim the R35s tracks and shoot them at the side as possible" _Eirian started to explain them their tasks as he entered the tank again while they were still being fired at by the R35._

"Sounds like a decent plan, I'm okay with it!" _Haru hypes up as he holds the next shell. _

"Just give me the target, and I'll shoot them by their tracks" _Natsuki nods. _

"I'll fire the machine gun also!" _Elizabeth offers some help to Natsuki. _

"Whatever, but still, we got your back, Commander!" _Alina smirks at him as she tilts her head to him. _

"Everyone, roll out!"

_Meanwhile in Éclair's side, her chronic stomachache is causing her more problems than the match itself, being bombarded from Oarai's tanks, in the middle of a pincer attack, and in a flat plain, it was clear that they don't have the advantage anymore as it was no match. _

"All Maginot tanks, deploy smoke screen!" _Éclair ordered her team as she tries to hold out the pain in her stomach while under heavy bombardment. _

"_Compris!_" _One by one they started to deploy their smoke screen, disappearing from the sights of its chasers. _

"Everyone! Retreat to point NE-4940!" _She further added as they soon started to enter the dense forest. _

_Every tank of Maginot then regroups into the densest part of forest, this includes the R35 that pursued Eirian's tank as it uses the smokescreen to cause confusion to Eirian afterwards. _

"We lost the R35 here…" _Eirian announces as the tank turns around with their task becoming a search and destroy. _

"We lost the main force as well; it seems they're regrouping at the forest" _Miho explains to him. _

"So, what now, should we regroup as well?"

"Yes, meet us at the entry point of NE-5040" _She instructed to him as she marks the entry point of Maginot's forest at that exact coordinates. _

"Got it!"

_As things settle down on Maginot's team, the Char Bis' commander, Galette, is having deep thoughts about their current situation as they continue to move to their designated location. _

"Both the R35s failed at both the surprise and the mobile attack, as a result we lost 2 of them and our combat strength is now 4 v 6. Even more, one could say that we almost lost this match from areas we were excellent at…" _She mutters as she stares at Éclair's tank as she takes the lead. _

"Now I really wonder what Éclair plans to do after this…" _She wanders in her thought as she gazes upon the tank of their leader. _

"Madam Éclair… this is bad for us…" _Fondue was worried from their current situation as she tries to tap in a connection to Éclair, but what she hears from her commander causes her to feel more worried from her. _

"Madam! What's wrong?!" _Fondue immediately opened the back hatch of her tank, letting the warm breeze and a clear transmission from Éclair's bleu Spade tank. _

"Uhm, the Commander! Her face turned pallid!" _The radio operator of Éclair's team then reported back to Fondue. _

"Everyone! 11'o clock! Let's go there, the Commander is seriously in bad condition!" _Fondue took up command as she taps into their team channel, relaying orders as turns went south to Éclair as she was unconscious. _

_The 4 remaining tanks then take a breath in a spot at the forest, surrounded by trees in which Oarai can't find them very easily as they put down Éclair on the ground, her back leans on the tank while her uniform was covered by vomit, she was weakened, both mentally and physically. _

"Sorry Girls… today I ended up forgetting my usual stomach medicine" _Éclair puts a weak smile on her as she apologies to the others. _

"Madam, I think you should take a break" _Fondue suggested to her Commander as she was very worried from Éclair's current problem. _

"I'm fine… My stomach's inside got refreshed… So I'm a bit at-" _It was a lie as her body couldn't handle the fatigue she gained after her sudden chronic stomachache, causing Fondue to support her at standing up. _

"Madam Éclair! Please don't force yourself. It worries me a lot at your current situation…"

"Fondue, today I'm not going to listen to your… jesting" _Éclair remains at her place as she takes time to recover while hearing the others' suggestion about their next plan. _

"Madam Éclair… I think let's just-"

"No we won't!" _Éclair shouted back; her emotions is starting to get a hold on her current state. _

"Éclair... why are you pushing yourself this much?" _Éclair slowly looks up at Galette, the commander of the Char Bis as she was utterly dissatisfied what she sees from Éclair. _

"Do you really want to win this match so much that you're being arrogant, ruthless, and a nuisance to the team now…"

"Galette! Now is not the time to give complains to Madam Éclair!"

"It's fine, Fondue…" _Éclair stands up with the help of her Vice-Commander as she then confronts Galette face to face with a question that surprises all of them. _

"Tell me, Miss Galette… Do you enjoy _Senshadou_?"

"Having fun in particular" _She clarifies as Galette started to avoid looking at her, feeling like she was being teased by Éclair's question. _

"At first I thought, "I just want to win" kind of mindset. And then I fought against Madam Madeleine and yelled out "Who cares about Maginot's traditions!" and became the Maginot's Commander… and before I could notice it, I became a burdened by those traditions" _Éclair started to share her mindset to them as she puts her hand on her chest, feeling emotional as she lets out what she remembered during those memories she had while she was in Senshadou. _

"Madam Madeleine and the other Senpais built up those traditions that I denied, my desire to wanting to win, both became a bundled together and became a part of Maginot's tradition. But… If it's like this, then I want to win this!"

"Together with everyone! This way I'm sure that we'll come to like _Senshadou _even more than now!" _As she remembers what Rommel asked to you the other day that struck her mind like lightning, is that true meaning of __**Panzerkraft**__ is simply enjoy it to the fullest. She smiles afterwards as tears started to form around her eyes._

"I've now realized it… The result of the continued defeats up till now and the way Maginot was thus far. Being here surrounded to all you as its embodiment, all of these are the traditions of Maginot Girls Academy" _She puts her chin up as she looks up on her team, smiling back at her as they found her speech an inspiring one, getting them all the morale they needed to match, even Galette was also impressed but she avoids looking at her due to embarrassment. _

"I absolutely won't let all the hardships we went through so far go to waste!"

"The Maginot from now on will become stronger! And what we're doing right now is preparation for that!"

"So while we're changing up the old traditions, I couldn't help myself but to enjoy the Senshadou with content" _She smiles at them, feeling grateful and happy that she found the meaning of __**Panzerkraft **__way back before Rommel told her that. Its meaning is simple but difficult to achieve it due to its uniqueness to everyone's perspective of it, some found it with their friends, some found it with their passion, and some found it from their memories and hardships. _

"So, Miss Galette, why don't you enjoy _Senshadou _together with me, to us, to Maginot?"

"That question is just weird… B-because I too… am already part of the embodiment of those traditions, no?" _Galette was completely embarrassed as she was being honest to herself once for while and it was a sight to behold to the other members as looked at their embarrassed friend and clubmate. _

"But still… I! Hate Éclair!"

_Éclair just stares at her before a warm and strong smile appears at her face as she recovered from the fatigue she was having, and also her state, both mental and physically as she is now ready to take out Oarai Academy with her Senshadou._

* * *

_Eirian's fox team then regroups with the Juniors as they pull out a search and destroy operation on the forest, it was quiet as breeze swayed Eirian's brown dark hair as he aimlessly looks around his surroundings, feeling unease. _

"Not only that they picked a spot where the visibility is lower, but with these trees around, you couldn't be too sure that maybe they will be behind of us" _Haru comments as he out from the turret as well. _

"We have no signs of the enemy here, and it's quite some time now…" _Eirian mumbled as in front of them was the Juniors who was doing a recon mission. _

_An explosion then interrupts him as it landed right next to the M3's location, Eirian heard the sound as he quickly uses his binoculars and pointed it ahead of them, seeing a stationed R35 in the distance before is makes a U-turn and runs away. _

"Juniors, Eirian! Pursue the R35 while maintain distance!" _Miho instructed as Eirian's radio started to speak up. _

"Roger that!" _Eirian then orders his driver to put the medal into the pedal as they started to chase the R35 down. _

"Commander Nishizumi! There's a Somua at our 10'o clock!" _Isobe announced through the channel. _

"They're fleeing as well?!" _Isobe further detailed it as they were also fleeing from them. _

"Commander! Which should we pursue?!" _Momo asked. _

"Pursue the one entangled with the M3 and Panzer III"

"Be sure to keep your eyes on your surroundings also" _Eirian added through the radio channel as it was a team channel. _

_All Oarai's tank then started to link up with the recon unit as they continued to chase down the single remaining R35._

"Madam Éclair, Oarai's main force is heading towards your location" _Fondue stated as her tanks were the one the who was spotted by Duck team but didn't started to chase her tank, giving her the opportunity to relay an information to her Commander whilst her tank was redeploying into another location in the forest. _

"That tank sure is popular… tell them to greet Oarai's tank with bad manner while running away like a mouse and try to get their nerves if you can" _Éclair instructed her radio operator as they were readying for an ambush. _

"_Compris!"_

"Now this is where we change the tides, ready yourself Oarai Academy" _Éclair smirks as Oarai was about to head into a trap that she prepared for them. _

"Hey… Where did that other tank from before go?" _Momo then asks to her team as they were still chasing the R35 in front of them. _

"Well, you can't fetch a Tiger pup without entering a Tiger's den" _Anzu responded as she took a big bite at her favorite snack. _

"But still…"

_Eirian was focusing on the tank in front of them that he didn't have the time to notice that someone was already chasing them from behind, but as he discovered it, it was too late from them as they fell into Éclair's ambush. _

"Commander! A Char Bis is on our six!" _Caesar informed as both Miho and Eirian was caught unguard from their (un)predictable tactic. _

"Huh?! The R35 is taking a turn?!" _Asuza reacted in response as the R35 tries to show its side hull towards the advancing team, probably mocking them. _

"They're coming!" _The Commander of R35 then announces to Éclair as they were hiding in the trees. _

"Type 89!"

"The Assault III"

"Diamond _Bleu, _Clubs _Bleu, Feu!" _

_As instructed from Éclair, both shells were fired from the Char Bis and the undetected S35 as they round up a precise shell towards the duck and hippo team, taking them out with ease and caught Oarai unguard. _

_Both shells hit their targets, smoke and dust soon started to appear with two white small flags pops out eventually, marking two of Oarai's team down from the match as Maginot turns the tide and became match. _

"Miho! Awaiting orders?!" _Eirian quickly turns its turret as it started to fire back at its rear, focusing towards the heavy Char Bis as it was currently loading a shell._

"Everyone! Move towards the north, we'll pull out from this position!"

"Roger!"

_Their threads soon started to roll out as they continue to dodge Maginot's bombardment from the rear as they flee from the area. _

_Eirian's Panzer III took the rear while Miho's Panzer IV took the front as she leads her team towards a safer area for them to take a breather and a decent plan to counter their disadvantage from the match while Maginot started to tail them from the distance. _

"Not only they took out our Type 89, but they also took out our Assault III…" _Miho was feeling down as she fails herself as a commander as she was heard from their team channel. _

"Don't put the blame on yourself, it's also my fault for not considering that ambush to be like that…" _Eirian tries to help her as a depressed Commander is a no-good Commander on the battlefield. _

"But with that…. Our combat strength is no 4…"

"Doesn't matter, just get your head back into the game and we will sort them out once we take a breather" _He explained. _

"But Nishizumi is right, the StuG III is our best shot at winning this match, without them we will have to grind ourselves even more on this match…" _Alina commented to Eirian as it was a heavy blow to them. _

"Not only that but with their heavy tank still in the game, I think our chances are becoming slim and slim now…" _Alina further added as her usual tone changes, feeling a sign of hopelessness on her voice._

_Maginot started to fire again at them, their Char Bis, R35, and their S35s soon opened fire and unleashes a barrage of shells towards Oarai Senshadou, as things were looking pretty grim on them, Miho then closes her eyes and soon realizes at why they were there on the match because they want to win and with this motivation she had, she took the command again with a determined look on her face. _

"Juniors! Student Council! We'll split into 2 groups once we've climbed up on point K-9 on the next hill" _Miho ordered. _

"What?! But you're splitting apart our current combat strength with this!?" _Momo reacted through the channel as she disagreed from Miho's plan. _

"We couldn't allow Maginot to encircle us again by the terrain, we must take back the initiative" _She explains to her. _

"Nishizumi does have a point there" _Anzu then looks up to Momo as she totally approves with her plan. _

"We will finish this before that happens again!"

"Well, isn't that a bit interesting now" _Eirian smirks before he gives a thumbs up on Miho. _"I hope you're not kidding because we will do our best then!"

_Soon Oarai split their tanks in two separate teams, Miho and Eirian took the right path while Azusa and Anzu took the right. Causing confusion on Maginot's team as they started to wonder about Oarai's sudden change of pattern on the field. _

"It must be a challenge from Oarai then" _Éclair chuckles as she doubts that Oarai would trick them again, thinking that this is about a duel than an expected ambush from Oarai. _

"I'll take on that Panzers invitation. Fondue, I need you to take the invitation from the M3 and the Type 89 with Miss Galette here" _Éclair further ordered her team as her tank and the remaining R35 then started to chase down Miho's tank. _

"_Compris! _Goodluck Madam Éclair" _They soon split their team as well as the Char Bis and her S35 chases down the M3 and the 38 (T)._

"That's their command tank, the blue spade one" _Haru then informs to Eirian as he lowered his binoculars. _

"And the other one is our target then" _Eirian also lowered his binoculars as well before going back inside and started a meeting again to his colleagues. _

"So, everyone, it seems like Maginot accepted our invitation and apparently this looks lik situation, with that R35 from earlier that disengaged from us, I think they want to settle it on a duel. So, what do you guys say?"

"Haven't we already told you that we got your back on this, idiot?" _Alina then turns her head around as she tries to remind him what she said to him earlier at the match. _

"Alina's right, your orders we will fallow it!" _Elizabeth then smiles at him. _

"It's about time that we haven't taken out a single tank on this match, I been yearning to take them out" _Natsuki smirks as she wants to use their main armament again._

"We'll fallow you no matter what, Eirian!" _Haru puts a determined smile on his face as he is willing to take orders from their friend and commander. _

_This in return causes Eirian to feel slightly better on himself and his trusts to the team as he smiles at them in return, few seconds later he then opened his mic and contacted Miho Nishizumi. _

"Miho, I'm taking their R35, I think it's about time to settle the score with them" _He informs her with an eager smirk on his face. _

"The idea is both strange and quite amusing to say at least" _She giggles._

"You got my permission, I'll take their S35 then" _She finally gives him the permission as she shown a smile on her face. _

"_Arigatou!_" _Eirian then lowers his hand from his throat and with a nod he showed to Alina, the tank then split up from Miho and quickly made a U-turn before approaching in full throttle towards the R35. _

"It seems like they want to have a duel with you, _Clubs Rogue_?"

"_Oui_! Permission to disengage from the unit and settle the scores with them?"

"Permission granted, and don't forget to give them a lesson they would never forget"

"_Compris!_" _The R35 also departs from Éclair as Eirian's Panzer III allows Éclair's tank to bypass him as they were now alone at the area, shells were loaded, and their armaments were pointed at each other._

* * *

_Both the Commander just stared at each other before both simultaneously started to charge at one another, opening fire along the way as both shots were a miss. _

"Elizabeth! Fire the Machine gun at them"

"On it!"

_Elizabeth then manned up the machine gun and fired towards the tank, the bullets were either a miss or a ricochet as it did little to none effect to them._

"Commander! It's not working though" _She yelled at Eirian to notice his attention immediately. _

"I don't need you to shoot them directly, I want you to shoot at the ground, in front of them"

"Oh… But why didn't you tell me that earlier then!?"

"Sorry…" _Eirian rubs his head in embarrassment. _

_Both tanks bypassed each other and both of them gain some minimal distant before U-turning their tanks again, facing the other again as they took a complete stop, looking at each other for a while before the R35 then started to charged at them at full speed. _

"This is it! Elizabeth, I want you to shoot the ground in front of them, Alina, I want you to get us to their side without crashing into them, and Natsuki. I put my faith to you on this one shot, do you guys got that?"

"Roger that!"

"Show them what you got!"

_Their Panzer III then started to charge towards the R35 as well, while the R35 fired a round at them but it was a miss but there was still time for them to reload a round and can take them out in a blank-close range but before they could do that, it was a do or die as they initiated their plan as well. _

_Elizabeth then lets out a round at them but instead of at them directly, she shot them at the ground, causing smoke to appear at the front of the R35, lowering and eventually taking out its visibility and with a round they fired upon reloaded, they missed their opportunity to take Eirian out with that shot as Eirian quickly swayed to the right and went to the side, pointing its cannon towards the side hole as Natsuki pulled the trigger, puncturing the side of the R35 like butter as the R35 tilts to the side and falls on the ground, exposing its bottom to them as a white flag soon pops out from the downed vehicle._

"That's one tank down. Great job, everyone. We should check the others if they are safe"

_Their Tank started to move away from the immobilized R35 as they drifted away and tries to regroup with the others._

* * *

_Meanwhile in Miho's case, the S35 still pursues them. She pops out her head in order to take a decent sight on her surroundings, even though she pops her out from the Commander's hatch, it was prove to be dangerous as sometimes the shell landed right next to her tank and causes the tank to rock a little, being swayed from the intense violent of the impact, causing Miho to enter her tank again after a few moments of observation from her surroundings. _

"Miporin! I told you to stop popping out your head while we're being chased by someone!" _Saori looks at her madly, she was very concern to Miho as she doesn't her to get hurt from their match. _

"I'm sorry for making you worry, Saori"

"Then don't do that casually next time!"

"I won't" _Miho giggles. _

"So, what's the plan, Nishizumi-dono?"

"Well… I have an idea to take them down, but Yukari, are you still not tired from carrying those shells all day long?"

"Me? I'm fine, Nishizumi-dono, and plus I don't skip my work-out so I'm capable to serve you even more!" _While deep inside, her admiration stirred up to the climax as Miho was worried to her in which she shows a smile nonstop during the whole duration of their match afterwards. _

"I too"

"Miss Hana?"

"I get the feeling that I gradually got the knack out of training, so if I concentrate more, I can raise precision more precisely…" _Another round was unleashed from the short howitzer of Panzer IV, its shell quickly landed right next to the threads of the S35, it was an HE shot as it exploded at side of its hull. _

"Just don't you worry about us, Miporin. I'll inform you with everything on the battlefield" _Saori then gives a determined smile to Miho. _

"You girls are having a good time even though we are still being chase by Maginot's Commanding tank" _Mako also joins in as she was having a good time. _

"Mako…"

"This match is much more interesting and if I'm being honest, I can sense more confidence than to the last match, so please. Leave the driving to me!"

"Hai! I'm counting on you!"

"So, Miporin, what's our plan then?"

_Miho then looks all of her teammates, she clenches her hand tightly as she feels it was now the time that they will win their first match, together as a team. She pops out her head and quickly she saw something that causes her to give an idea very immediately. _

"Mako! Please run up that slope on our right at full power!"

"Roger that!" _She shifts the gear and soon their tank moves even more faster. _

_Slowly the tank ascends into the slope at their right, it climbs at the slope in a fast pace that Éclair simply glares at the unexpected climber in awe. _

"How is that even possible?!" _Her Radio operator reacted in disbelief._

"It seems that they are trying to pick a fight on us, Madam" _Their driver said in a calm voice. _

"We'll keep the course. We'll take on their challenge!"

"_Compris!_"

_Éclair's S35 then goes on a straight path while the Panzer IV slowly gains the high ground as while they were reaching to the top, Miho then gives another order to her teammates. _

"Mako! Make a turn once we've reached the top of the slope, we need to close on them at one go!"

_As soon the tank reaches to the top, it quickly made a turn and went straightly charges at the S35 as it was also getting some speed as well. _

_With both tanks were about to collide each other, the next shot will decide the fate of their duel. The Panzer IV's Machine Gun then started to fire at the ground beneath the S35, this causes Éclair to think if they're pulling a feint at them but as soon as the dust was settling in, the Panzer IV immediately attempted to bypassed them as the dust became Miho's smoke concealment for them. _

_Éclair then ordered to fire their cannon and they fired at the smoke, aimlessly. Their shot was a miss as the Panzer IV wasn't there at her sights anymore and after she heard another engine from the side of her tank, an explosion abrupt them the next. _

_The close-blank-shot from Miho's Panzer IV penetrated the side of Éclair's S35, quickly taking it out with little effort as dark smoke settles on the tank and a white flag suddenly pops out, deeming it immobilized._

* * *

"Maginot Girls Academy Spade _Bleu_, unable to continue!" _The speakers announce to the remaining players on the field._

_Fondue already have the high ground and her tank already targeted the Panzer 38(T) yet upon hearing the news, she couldn't pull the trigger due to being shocked but upon hearing the voice of her teammate that another tank was aiding both the 38(T) and the M3 Lee, she pulled the trigger right before her tank was taken out by Eirian's Panzer III. _

_Both shells landed on their targets, Fondue's shell landed on the engine compartment of the Panzer 38(T), easily taking the tank out while the other shell landed safely at their rear, taking them out with ease also. _

_Eirian quickly realizes that something was wrong down below them and with Fondue taking out the Panzer 38, it seems the plan of the Junior were about to fail. _

"Alina! Fallow that Bis, we're aiding the juniors!"

"On it!"

"We're sorry, Juniors, but I'll leave the Char to you" _The voice of Anzu then cheers on the Juniors as they were on their own on now, their plan of taking out the Char Bis earlier failed as their shell didn't penetrated its fuel tank as they thought that the grill were its "Weak spot". _

"What should we do now?" _Karina immediately asks as the situation became worse to them. _

_As Azusa became pressured that her plan failed and with the fact that their ally was taking out while they have no idea what they will do next, this causes her to lose some hope as she sits on her commander's seat, quiet and demoralized. _

_Her attention soon became dull as not even her teammates would snap her out as she was powerless and felt useless that they didn't to anything for their team, but Saki, as a stoic and extremely quiet girl then calls out Azusa's attention as she repeatedly pulls her skirt in order to get her attention. _

"Don't be discourage…" _Her dispassionate eyes then gaze at the discouraged Azusa, albeit her voice were the usual that is being apathetic, but it was still unusual for her to speak as it was the first time that she speaks in the middle of match. _

"But what should I do?" _Azusa needs some at least an evident that they will make it through this problem as she looks at back at the stoic Saki. _

"Believe… in yourself"

_Azusa looks at Saki before she gives her a head pat as she finally able to avoid being discouraged as the fate of her team lies in her now._

"We're winning this!" _She became determined again as the Char Bis was closing the gap between them very fast. _

"Make a U-turn and bypass them to the side and hit their side again!" _She gives the order as the Char Bis was about to fire a round before the M3 Lee could do it. _

_A round was unleashed from the Char Bis as it fired its cannon at blank range at the M3 Lee as they finally have the minimum distant to shoot at them without using the sights, the shell projected into the sky but it didn't hit the M3 Lee as the Panzer III in full speed interrupts them by colliding its front hull on the side hull of the Char Bis, avoiding the fetal shot and give time for them to counter the heavy tank. _

"NOW!" _Azusa shouted as the her makes a quick U-turn while the Panzer III managed to give them an opportunity to reveal the exposed side of the Char Bis, their dual main armament then pointed at its target and with both the gunners pulled the trigger, they took out the Char Bis as they shot the side with both the 37mm and the powerful 75mm._

"Oarai Academy, Panzer III is now immobilized"

"Maginot Girls Academy, all tanks unable to continue"

"Victory goes for Oarai Academy!" _The spectators cheered on the winners; Pekoe claps her hand in congratulating them while Darjeeling shows a smile; Both Rommel and Madeleine sigh in relief as the match was finally over._

* * *

"That was quite the match they have" _Rommel said to her as the monitor shows the emblem of Oarai Academy with a word of victory underneath it. _

"I believe my team is in safe hands now" _Madeleine shows a smile on her face as she stares at the aftermath of Oarai vs Maginot on the monitor. _

"We did it Miporin! Our first victory!" _Saori was in a good mood as they step out from their tank in order to participate the aftermath salutation practice. _

"Hai! Because everyone gave their very best on it!"

"We're not gonna ram our tank again…" _Eirian reminded his driver as they walk away from their tank, feeling dizzy as they try to regroup with Miho and the others._

"Agreed… but just this once!"

"You're a _Tsundere _as ever, Alina" _Both Natsuki and Elizabeth then teases her as they were totally fine with Haru helping out Eirian as he can't stand properly due to his dizziness._

"I didn't expect that this would turn into such an unexpected close fight, I'm totally impress to both of you" _Éclair then approaches both Miho and Eirian and tries to do a "La bise" in which she gives a light grazing on Miho's cheek with a smooch sound effect that Éclair purposely make while doing it to Miho. _

_Miho was flustered and when it was Eirian's turn he quickly changes it offers his hand instead. _

"Sorry, but I don't allow kissing on the cheeks"

"It's not kissing on the cheeks, it's called _La Bise, _and it's a common custom to greet someone like that in Maginot so don't feel agitated about it" _As she still continues it to Eirian, in which in return Eirian in the end was not moving nor reacting as he was wasn't working as he was red as a tomato after the La Bise. _

"This was a nice match" _Éclair then looks back at Miho, feeling happy as she enjoyed the match from the bottom of her heart. _

"Fo…. For me too, since your tactics kept throwing us around"_ Miho was still getting flustered as her heart thumps in unusual pace. _

"But you were the one who won after all"

"W…. We were just that lucky"

"Who knows, that might've been it, however everyone made great efforts hoping to obtain that good luck. Even if there were coincidences, _Senshadou_ is about teamwork, an individual can't win, no matter how hard they fight, so, the victory this time is a victory for all of Oarai"

"Hai! Arigatou Éclair!"

"Till next time, Nishizumi Miho and Eirian Haiiro" _Éclair bids her farewell to them as Fondue finally arrives with their transportation. _

"Thank you very much!" _Miho then gives a bow while Eirian was still immoveable as he was speechless and shocked from the "kiss" earlier. _

_As Éclair's transportation goes away in the distance, the sun slowly descends from the sky as it became a warm orange at the horizon, they can now feel at ease as they achieve their first victory as a team, everyone was cheering and were genuinely happy from it. _

_Soon Eirian became himself again as soon Haru finally stopped poking his body for an entire minute in order to wake him up. _

"Nice, you're back to yourself now" _He chuckled._

"Senpai Haiiro!" _The voice of Azusa then catches both the attention of Haru and Eirian as they face her afterwards. _

"What's the matter?"

"Thank you so much, Senpai!"

"Why are you thanking me? You should be proud of yourself that you managed to pull off that stunt with the Student Council"

"Though I think you should stop watching some fictional tank movies from now on, and you should already know that the Grill of the Char is actually a triple layered 150mm thick so it would be foolish to shoot the 37mm on it…" _He sighs in disbelief before he started to walk away. _

"Don't feel sad, Eirian is very proud you and your team, he even asks the Student Council all the details you made and decided earlier" _Haru whispered to her as he cheers her up after she felt a little bit discouraged. _

_Azusa then looks at Eirian as he was having a conversation with Miho and Anzu as they wait for their transport to arrive, she smiles afterwards as she learns out that Eirian is not a scary person anymore but instead a caring one but in a different way, a unique different way._

* * *

_Meanwhile Rommel and his subordinates were going back to their School carrier now, the atmosphere was quiet as Kotori remained at the back seat, extremely and unusually silent as she hasn't spoken a single word after they picked her up. _

"So, Akane Kotori. What can you say that Eirian is now an Oarai Student?" _Rommel then looks at her as he turns his head to confront her. _

_Her eyes start to shed as she continues to tighten her grip before looking back at Rommel with an expression of being happy and grateful. _

"I'm quite happy" _She smiles at him, resulting Rommel to smile afterwards at her._

"You want to meet him again?"

* * *

**So that's the match of Oarai and Maginot, do you guys like it? If so feel free to give some review and maybe some request that I can take in the next upcoming chapters, so every stay tuned :)**

**Ever Expanding, World Building, Thanks to all, Panzer Vor!**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_Standing, wondering, gazing outside the vast blue ocean on the edge of the ship as Eirian rested his arms on the railings at the bow of Zuikaku's small ferry as they made their way towards the mainland for an upcoming event. _

_Wearing his school uniform as he felt the breeze lingering his brown hair, the sun beams an intense yet warm and satisfying heat that calms the mind of his. The sound of silence, the smell of salt, and a beauty scenery eases the thoughts of Eirian for a moment, but even with the scenery around him, he couldn't stop pondering something as he engulfed himself a deep thought. _

"It's been almost a month since we started Senshadou, yet I haven't done anything to progress the mission. Am I in loose ends here or am I not cut for this mission" _He heaves a sigh of both disbelief and frustration as he rests his head on the metal railings, feeling conflicted. _

"But I don't think she's that suspicious for being a spy, from the last time I went to her room, she was just an average girl" _His mind started to baffle as he shakes his head. _

"If that's the case then why would Rommel just waste my time in doing this, it makes no sense!" _He rubs his hair frantically, like a mad man as he was bewildered._

"I never doubt the Fuehrer's intelligence, neither _JIGA's Abwehr _capabilities, but I'm starting to think that all of this is just a flute…" _He closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down. _

"Doesn't matter, as long as I keep investigating Nishizumi I might able to crack her down, after all 'Good things come to those who wait' like they said" _He eventually drops the thought and gazes the beauty of the land of the rising sun. _

_While at it, Kosuke Elizabeth along with their team is sneaking behind their unguarded Commander as she was in her playful attitude again. _

_She jumps quickly and covered Eirian's vision by her hands before asking out who she was as she tries to imitate an old person. _

"Who am I?"

"Your voice is not convincing, try harder Elizabeth…" _He admonishes her. _

"Come on! Read the mood once for a while, Eirian!" _She reacts in a childish manner as she pulls out her tongue. _

"What are you, a child in a teen's body?"

_Elizabeth quickly went behind Natsuki's back as she was pouting and slightly mad at him from what he said to her. _

"Eirian you meanie! don't assume me like a child always!" _She pointed him before she looks at both Natsuki and Alina beside her, waiting for their response about it. _

"As much as I hate to say this, but that moron is right, you're acting a bit like a child, Kosuke" _Alina was hesitant to say it as she didn't like the idea of her agreeing Eirian in a statement._

"She's right, I think you should try to be more mature, miss Kosuke"

"It doesn't matter, from what I can tell, Elizabeth here is a people's person, so being herself is fine by me" _Elizabeth's cheeks flushed a little shade of red before she gives him a teasing smirk and look on her eyes._

"Are you hitting on me early in the morning, how bold of you, Eirian"

"That's gross of you, hitting my friend early in the morning, Idiot…"

"That's unusual for you to be the flirty one, Commander"

"I think that's just how Eirian treats everyone" _Haru chuckles as he gives Eirian a pat on the back._

"I mean, look at his relationship with the President, Nishizumi, and even the Juniors lately, he's quite the people's person as well" _He added. _

"Now you said that, something really interests me, Eirian, what's your relationship with our Overall Commander?!" _Elizabeth quickly leans in to Eirian, her eyes were sparkling as she gazes down Eirian's utter black eyes. _

"There's nothing between the two of us…" _His heart almost skipped a beat as she was very close to him, it was now apparent that he didn't like girls who are very close to his face ever since that "kiss" he received from Éclair the other day. _

"Eyy?! But you two are super close to each other!"

"I will say this again, Elizabeth. I have no interests in relationship as they are a waste of time, space, and emotions" _He rebukes. _

"But the question still remains, Eirian… What will happen when a girl falls in love with you?"

_Eirian looks at her for a second before he heaves a sigh of frustration as he didn't actually value the thought of it as he turns around from them and continued his sightseeing as they soon saw the mainland island ascending from the horizon. _

"I won't let that happen…" _He mumbles under his breath._

* * *

_Somewhere in the mainland is the Royal Girls of St. Gloriana settling in on a fancy restaurant just outside the harbor. Taking a break as they were also invited to join the "Annual Senshadou Tournament Selection". _

_But while they were taking a break from the exhausting journey, both Orange Pekoe and Assam were worried to their Commander as Darjeeling's behavior was different and peculiar. _

_She looks at the table aimlessly, engulfed by a thought that she couldn't understand, her feelings were mixed but she couldn't distinguish it. This sudden change of behavior upsets her colleagues as Pekoe finally broke the silent. _

"Miss Darjeeling, are you okay?" _Pekoe asks, her tone was very worried to her colleague, friend, and her Senior. _

"Oh? Well, I'm just a bit exhausted, Miss Pekoe. There's nothing to worry about me" _Darjeeling fakes up a smile, but it wasn't convincing to them. _

"Something is definitely bothering Miss Darjeeling today; do you have any clues at why, Pekoe?" _Assam then asks to Pekoe as she leans in right next to her. _

"Sadly I don't even know it, but I maybe have a theory about it"

"What is it?"

"I think it's about the invitation she gave to one of the Commanders from Oarai Academy"

"You mean their Vice-Overall Commander?"

"Hai"

"What's the problem then?"

"I think today is the day where she will meet him"

"I think you misunderstood the point, Miss Pekoe" _Darjeeling then cuts._

"The reason at why I wanted to meet him today is that I wanted to have a word with him, it's important that I cannot let it slide away" _She explained as she tries to hold it. _

"But what will I do if he didn't come today?!" _She quickly curls up like a ball as she was acting peculiar again, maybe she was anxious to meet him or maybe she didn't like the idea of her plan to fail, either way it was still new to both Assam and Pekoe to see Darjeeling in this way. _

"So you're anxious because you're gonna meet with him later today?"

_Darjeeling nods shyly, this in return causes both Pekoe and Assam to looked at one another before they gave her a gleeful chortle, causing Darjeeling to be baffle at her fellow colleagues. _

"Did I say something funny?" _Darjeeling looks at them, very confused. _

"Pardon with the response, Miss Darjeeling. But I think that's just a normal way to a girl reacts to it" _Pekoe shines an innocent smile on her face. _

"Miss Pekoe is right, you're still a growing healthy lady, Miss Darjeeling" _Assam chuckles. _

_Darjeeling finally understands the feeling she was expressing. It was anxiety but it was a whole new and different feeling of anxiety as she can feel the slight tightness on her chest, the thought is quite distorting her clear way of thinking straightly as her calm and collected nature wasn't there at the table. She continues to look at her empty tea cup while she curled herself up. _

"Don't worry Miss Darjeeling, I think that he will accept your invitation" _Pekoe assures her. _

"From what I can tell, he might be the type of person who won't turned down a lovely lady like you, Miss Darjeeling" _She added, causing Darjeeling to look at her Kouhai while feeling flustered._

"I hope so, Miss Pekoe" _Darjeeling smiles at her in return, becoming her normal self as she became clear, graceful, calm, and a collected person again. _

_The Royal girls then soon enjoyed their time in the café as they passed their free time before the start of the 63__rd__ National Senshadou raffle draw later that day._

* * *

_On a port of Mainland Honshu is Oarai's Oboro, arriving safely and sound as they unpacked its passengers soon after they arrived and this includes the student Council of Oarai and both teams of Miho and Eirian. _

_Immediately they notice is that the port was a hub of ferries, several passenger ships that came from different Gakuenkans (School-Ships) from different regions of Japan as they gathered for one special eventful event today while their Gakuenkans including Zuikaku are located outside the port, they were stationed still at their certain locations as they were many of them, too many as they can't dock the port anymore due to their numbers._

"Isn't that the ship of St. Gloriana's?" _Elizabeth gestures the ship of St. Gloriana, the Ark Royal over on the distant. _

"So is that means that they also gonna participate the raffle later?" _She then asks to them as all students of Oarai finally gathered together. _

"Everyone School that is capable of doing Senshadou is invited, and that also includes them, Liz…" _Alina retorts. _

"Not only that but I think there's more people here than I expected to be…" _Alina then looks around as they were also boys around the port, different uniforms, different schools, and a unique set of Senshadou teams. _

"Apparently, there's an announcement from the _JSF_ staffs today as well, so that's why we have a lot of people here" _Anzu explains as she turns around in order to face the group. _

"This might be related to the sudden participation of male students in Senshadou…" _Momo suggested as she looks at the only boys on their group; Kojiro, Haru, and Eirian. _

"Well, whatever the reason that is, I can finally get myself a boyfriend here!" _Saori's eyes were sparkling with youth as she saw a lot of "hot guys" around the port. _

_Her eyes then catch two young fellow boys in the distance, one's a blonde while the other has a fair light brown hair color, their uniforms are able to distinguish from one another, concluding that they came from different schools. _

_The brown haired one then notices Saori in the distance, his eyes turns at her, gazing each other like a tidal lock. Saori quickly avoided him as she felt that they made a "connection" she said. _

"Our eyes just meet each other?! is this what you call love at first sight?" _She asks to her friends as she getting excited. _

"Miss Takebe, I think you're always like that when there's a boy who took a glimpse at you"

"Of course! Maybe he's my long-desired boyfriend that I been yearning for!"

_The young boy then decided to approach the group with an intention of meeting a girl that caught his eyes, Saori in return then became flustered as she couldn't handle the hype, is it destiny, fate or a coincidence. Either way, Saori turns around for a second as she gathers her courage before turning around, but surprise-surprise, the boy didn't approach her but instead he approached their commander, Nishizumi Miho. _

"Aren't you a little cutie one?" _He gives a mesmerizing grin at Miho; this causes Miho to blush a little as it was a surprise to her. _

_Saori was in utter shocked, Hana just gasped in surprise, Mako became awake again, and Yukari became extremely jealous from what she's seeing. Both Eirian and Anzu's group shared the same expression as Miho's group but Eirian was an exception as he was totally fine with it._

"Hey, aren't you jealous with him taking the first move?" _Haru asks. _

"And aren't you should be more concern from our Commander here?" _Kojiro further asks. _

"Why are you two giving me this look like I'm responsible of taking care Miho here…" _He looks back at them with a displeased look. _

"Well, for starters you're the Vice-Overall Commander of our team, and you're the closest Boy-friend she has among the three of us" _Haru explained._

"Takehiro is right, it's the vice-Commander's duty to protect the Commander from other influences, such as this barbaric scene" _Kojiro added as they saw that Yukari didn't take the scene very lightly. _

"I-I… I'm flattered for you to s-say that but, who are you exactly?" _Miho asks shyly in return as she couldn't stare at the young lad in the eyes as she was flustered like a tomato. _

"Being frisky as ever, don't you think that you should be more mature now, Sir Tominaga?" _Anzu then ends the silence as she came forward to the young lad in a brown WW2 American Uniform. _

"Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ships. And I just found my star here, Miss Kadotani" _He giggles._

"Amaya! Aren't you embarrassed from all of these, enough with this wooing in public!" _The Blonde one in a "dress blue" uniform finally arrives with an intention of apologizing from what Tominaga did to them, notably to Miho. _

"On behalf of Sire Tominaga Amaya, I deeply apologize from his playful energy from you all, notably you Miss Nishizumi" _He forced Amaya's head to show a bow to them as he was deeply sorry for them. _

"I guess things never change, do they, Sir David?" _Anzu just smiles in her normal cheerful way._

"No, they don't. And also call me as Yamamoto Yuichi, Anzu… We're not in a ceremonial event here, it's just a faithful gathering, that's all" _He chuckles. _

"Still small as ever, Anzy?" _Amaya giggles. _

"Do you want get snacked again, Omar?" _She smiles creepily at him in return._

"Of course no, I still have to experience my adulthood, Anzy" _He awkwardly chortled in response as Anzu became quite a scary one for him, just like old times. _

_Yukari finally calms down as Saori touched her shoulder; she gives a brief sigh before her emotions immediately intense up again as Amaya is trying to woo Miho again. _

"So Miss Nishizumi, can I invite you to lunch later, I do know a place here that serves some good sandwiches" _He's trying to show off his flirty attitude again, this enrages Yuichi and Yukari. _

_Yukari then turned her eyes towards Eirian and quickly gave him a scary look, demanding him to defuse the invitation immediately. _

"_Verdammt… _(Damnit)" _He sighs in displease again as he got no choice and so he decided to save the girl in distress as Miho didn't know how to reject an invitation. _

"Excuse my friend, but Commander here is quite shy to boys, and plus we're quite busy for today as well so I'm gonna turn down that invitation of yours" _He then interrupts them as he went in front of Miho, confronting her courter. _

"Oh, I'm very sorry! I didn't think that she already has a boyfriend, I'm super sorry!" _He come to a wrong conclusion as he saw Eirian holding her hand, assuming that they are in a relationship as he bows immediately. _

"Wait, you're a wrong conclusion here!"

"No need to deny it, my friend. I know that she holds a real value to you, I mean just look at it" _He then points the hands as Eirian quickly lets go with it, feeling flustered a little. _

"You're wrong, the thing I hate is those nonsensical relationships, it's just a waste of time and space for me" _He explained while he keeps his normal self, while for Miho she was very embarrassed as she couldn't stop blushing. _

"There goes his awkward single life reason again…" _Elizabeth in the distant said in disappointment. _

"I can hear you!"

"The Gentleman is right, today is a busy day for us, so I guess you can have the chance to invite them soon, Sir Amaya"

"I guess you're right…" _Tominaga rubs the back of his hair as he was a bit humiliated as he was in a way got turned down, indirectly of course from Miho. _

"But doesn't matter, opportunities will happen when the least you expect it, so goodbye for now, Oarai Academy" _Tominaga then shows his bright smile at them as he gave a bow before walking away from all of them, including Yuichi. _

"I want to apologize again, he's quite the nitwit but he has a kind heart, but he's quite a nuisance sometimes… but again, if you're interested of having a lunch with us, we would be happy to oblige that, farewell for now. Miss Kadotani and the students of Oarai" _Yuichi then walks away as he tries to trail Amaya down. _

"How do you exactly know them, Miss President?" _Momo then asks as it was the first time that both her and Yuzu learn that Anzu knows a boy from outside Oarai and its neighbors' region. _

"Actually, both of them are my friends since middle school" _She causally explained as she took a bite from her snack. _

"So that explains it, so should we call you by that nickname also, Miss Pres?" _Momo then looks at her, very intrigued. _

"No, no… I think it's very embarrassing and we should just ignore it, okay?"

"I don't know, but the nickname of Anzy is quite compelling than Anzu" _Kojiro said to them as he insists on it. _

"Indeed, and it's also very cute!" _Elizabeth says as she approves. _

"I agree with Elizabeth here!" _Saori added. _

"So Senpai, what can you do now, the fact that the others are agreeing to call you that, is it okay for you?" _Eirian asks in concern as Anzu was just pouting at them. _

"Well, I don't mind you calling me that…"

"What?"

"Nothing! Anyhow enough fooling around everyone! Our day will be busy yet this day is a crucial part of all of us, cause today is the National 63rd Senshadou Tournament Raffle draw!"

* * *

_Eventually the 14 of them made their way on a large building near the coastline, the front entrance was filled with students that came from different regions across Japan, some are new and some are veterans, some are juniors and some are seniors, and to be frank it was really crowded, very crowded as boys are also included and does the annual raffle just because a gathering spots for Senshadou enthusiasts and Participants. _

"It's like there's a concert here" _Elizabeth in awe. _

"Well we couldn't get inside if the situation is like this, how about we try to backdoor then?" _Anzu suggested. _

"Why are we going to the backdoor?" _Natsuki asks. _

"Because we already pre-ordered our seats and with that, they granted us some special treatment as well" _She showed a VIP card to all of them. _

"That's President for you, always taking things as usual" _Yuzu feels grateful as she sighs in relief. _

"So why are we waiting here, let's go everyone!"

_Immediately the group then made their way to an empty pathway leading to the backdoor of the building, two guards wearing in full dress uniform of the Swiss Guards, a tri-colored uniform with a distinctly Renaissance appearance halted the group to enter the building. _

_Anzu casually showed the guards their pass and went close inspection from the Guards, they soon allowed the group to enter the narrow hallway leading to the backstage of the building, enabling them to ignore the gruesome struggle of joining the large crowd at the entrance. _

"What's up with those Guards, they aren't wearing those men-in-black uniforms that you see in those Sci-Fi Movies" _Elizabeth asks in curiosity._

"They're part of the _JSF's Security department_, specifically they're students of Cyuuritsu Academy" _Momo explained while they were walking through a gallery of Senshadou paintings. _

"Cyuuritsu Academy?'

"It's a school that is neutral in Senshadou, they are under the supervision of the JSF and they act like personal guards to either the Officials or the Participants of Senshadou" _Kojiro added. _

"Actually, fun fact. Their School is actually based in Switzerland, that's why their background is just a neutral country and nothing else" _Yuzu explains._

"So that explains their wacky dress code" _Elizabeth giggles. _

"I don't know, I think it gives a traditional vibe to them" _Haru rebuffs. _

"That's what you always say to everything, Haru…" _She rebukes in response. _

"Because I believe that everything is depended on their perspective of seeing things, I just look at the world just different than you, Elizabeth" _He explained. _

"But still a scaredy-cat" _She chortles._

"Elizabeth!"

_While they were still going on their daily and usual conversations, Natsuki then notices Eirian at the far back, staring at a painting while he's having deep in thoughts. She then decided to approach him with the intentions of snapping him back into reality again. _

"It's getting hard to get her by the time the tournament finally starts, I might as well need to start to gather as many intels as possible now…" _Eirian's inner speech said as he stares out of the void from an empty white canvas._

_She gets to his side and pinched his arm, quickly pulling Eirian back in reality with a yelp. _

"Ouch! Kosuke, what's the matter with you?!"

"Just waking up my Commander under a heavy dose of deep thoughts again while staring at an empty canvas"

"I was just thinking, Miss Kosuke. You don't need to be concern about me" _He lets out a fake laugh as he tries to walk away in order to join the group again but he was stopped by Natsuki. _

"Somethings wrong about you today, you're acting more strange than usual, it seems like you are conflicted by something"

"Never knew that you're quite precise in your shots, but you have quite the sharp mind as well" _He finally gives in. _

"You got me; I'm conflicted by something" _He sighs. _

"Then why don't you just talk it out with us, we're teammates right?"

"I know you're concerned about me Kosuke, but it's none of your business and this won't affect my leadership with you guys, so don't you worry" _He lets out a genuine smile to her before he regroups with the others again as he managed to keep his secret from her._

"So Eirian, do you still remember that kiss from the Commander of Maginot Academy?" _Elizabeth teases him again. _

"Please, Elizabeth… I don't want to have a PTSD again from that kiss…"

"I told you it's not a kiss, it's called _La Bise!_" _Her voice immediately startled Eirian as he showed some slight red spots on his cheeks, probably embarrassed from that "kiss" he received from her. _

"Éclair?!"

"_Bonjour Monsieur _Haiiro and_ madame _Nishizumi_" She greets with a bow. _

"It's you Miss Éclair, I guess you're here for the raffle draw I presume"

"Hai, you're correct _madame _Nishizumi. We wanted to participate the 63rd tournament, since we wanted to give the Saint-Cyr style a try"

"Is that your new style that you used during our match, _Madame _Éclair?" _Yukari asks. _

"_Oui (Yes)_, We wanted to give a try of cavalry tactics since defensive tactics are proved to be inefficient against more armored and powerful opponents" _She answers. _

"Though they showed quite the great performance on the match, they still need time to polish it" _Eirian said as he finally calms down. _

"We did, but these few days were a great time to improve and we're ready as ever, so don't assume we're the same as before, once we meet on the field, we will be claimed as the victors before you two could even know it" _She then lets out a confident smirk at them. _

"Excessive confidence won't get you nowhere, but we'll give you the same results as before, Miss Éclair" _Eirian rebukes with a stern expression on his face. _

"Miss Éclair, we need to go now" _Fondue, her assistant, whispered to her as their colleagues are waiting._

"I see… Well, I really wanted to have a long conversation to you two but it seems like my time is now over here, may we meet again, _Au revoir (_Goodbye) _Madame _Nishizumiand _Monsieur _Haiiro" _She gives a bow again before walking away with Fondue on her side. _

"Good thing she didn't do that 'kissy-part' again on us…" _Eirian sighs in relief. _

"You don't need to remind that, you're just embarrassing yourself, Eirian" _Miho giggles. _

"How about we all grabbed our seats, everyone. The event is about to start" _Anzu then gestures the bleachers at the distant as more and more people are occupying the seats every second passes._

* * *

_Soon the 14 of them took their seats while waiting for the raffle draw to start, but as soon they made their seats, students of Cyuuritsu gave all of them except the boys a floral decoration of a Sakura, a Boutonniere in order to distinguish the participants from the viewers as they will also participate the raffle draw. _

_The seats were occupied, the indoor stadium became a gathering hub of enthusiasts and participants alike, and the spotlights shined directly at the center platform of the stage. All of them fall in silent as watched a single person walking out from the backstage and stand firmly and confidently at the platform, a young male wearing a light gray uniform, with an insignia of the JSF logo on his left lapel. _

"Greetings everyone, my name is Gunther Fujimura, I'm one of the newest officials of the Japanese Senshadou Federation, and a part of the Strengthening Diplomat Committee of the German Panzer-Stil Federation"

"You all might be wondering at why does a half German-Japanese man is standing at the stage with a confident smile on his face, one may think that things are getting absurd due to the issue of boys participating the event, but I'm here to tell you all the reason at why the _JSF _suddenly gave the issue"

"Didn't know that our advisor is one of the officials of the JSF" _Miho said in surprise. _

"Due to the global stage of _Panzerkraft _rapidly evolving in such a fast pace, the Unified Panzerkraft Council along with the help of the _GPSF _has issued to proposal to every Panzerkraft association across the world, 'The Modernization Policy', in which it will standardized all the rules and regulations to fit the pace of our advancing sport, this includes the number of tanks to accommodate the matches, and allowing boys to participate any _Panzerkraft _events and this includes the 63rd National Senshadou Tournament" _The people started to clogged the silent atmosphere with chatter, Gunther just waits in silent before he started to explain again. _

"True, it was a problem at first. Having boys to participate an all feminine sport is complete absurd at first, but other nations did think the same but once they allowed the Boys to join, their popularity not only increase but it improves a lot of lives as well, and from the eyes of the Council, they wanted the Japanese to feel the same passion like the other nations did"

"But under a special circumstances, this policy will either be enact or repeal at the end of the 63rd Tournament, so this event is quite special to everyone, maybe it will be mark in history or be forgotten like the other tournaments, but either way everyone should always enjoy the tournament to the fullest, this is Gunther Fujimura, officially signing out" _He then walks from the stage as someone takes his place as the announcement is finally over and the raffle draw is about to begin. _

"Welcome everyone! Today marks the official Raffle Draw of the 63rd National Senshadou tournament!" _The MC (Master of Ceremony) declared with a big smile on her face. _

"But today is a special one, not only that we see a lot of new participants, but the tournament has finally expanded its team bracket from 16 teams into 32!" _This announcement caused a lot of commotion to the viewers, enthusiasts, and the participants as well. _

"32? That's gonna be a problem, doesn't it, Miss Prez?" _Yuzu was feeling worried from their situation as things is even difficult for them now. _

"Indeed, but let's just hope that we can draw a safe one this time…"

"So, with that out of the way, all the participants should come to the backstage in order to draw your raffles" _The MC said._

"Hey, Kouhai. You should accompany Miss Nishizumi down there, we don't want her to have another potential courter down there" _Anzu's request to Eirian as she looks back behind her seat, showing an excessive grin with a teasing intent on her face. _

"President is right. It would a bothersome to her if someone tries to appeal her again" _Haru stated. _

"She's a sensitive lovely girl, Eirian. You need to do it for her own sake" _Elizabeth demanded._

"I can't deny their acclaims, but it's the duty of the Vice to keep on eye on the Overall Commander, Commander…"

"Just do the hell you want with her, just don't do anything bad to her or else I'll crush you like an ant you are"

"_Tsun-dere _as ever, Alina?"

"Shut up Kosuke!"

"You guys are hopeless, alright I'll accompany her then" _He lets out a sigh of frustration before standing up from his seat in order to call out Miho from her seat._

"Yoh, Miho. Let's go now"

"H-Hai!" _She quickly stands up from her seat before the two of them went their way towards the backstage alone with the other participants as well. _

"Those two looked like a couple from here" _Saori felt a little jealousy from her friend but still genuine happy at it as she thought both of them were cute as a couple. _

"You should see this Mako!" _She then tries to wake Mako up. _

"I can't… too sleepy… the lights are too dim from here, it's so comforting to take a nap, Saori…" _She was consumed by drowsiness again. _

"They do look like a couple, don't they, miss Hana?" _Yukari giggles. _

"Yes, that's so gentleman-like of our Vice to accompany Miho like that" _She feels happy for both of them._

"Ahm… Eirian, why did you decided to accompanying me, I'm okay to go alone to the backstag-"

"There's a reason for that, I just don't want any hindrance from the boys again since they you're a genuine nice girl" _This causes Miho to blush a little from what he said to her, her heart felt a slight tightness as she felt a little safe from him. _

"Ahm, T-thank you, Eirian…"

"Just doing my job, Miho"

_They soon arrived at the backstage and as expected, some boys wanted to approach Miho but were hesitated as soon they saw the intimidating Vice-Commander of Oarai Academy, luckily there were no hindrances as Miho was enable to draw the raffle with success, though the only problem is that she picked the slot that would make their first game a disadvantageous one._

"Oarai Academy, number 8!" _The MC said through the speakers as the name of Oarai Academy was put on the slot of 8, beside number 7, Saunders University High School. _

_The students of Saunders behind Eirian cheered like there's no tomorrow, as expected from a school that is filthy rich and has a lot of tanks compared to other schools such as the infamous Kuromorimine or the Pravda High. _

"Impudent overconfident beings…" _Eirian mumbled as he felt little irritated from their arrogance and overconfident. _

"Hey… I'm sorry for getting a bad slot, Eirian…" _Miho then shows a sad expression on her face. _

"Don't let it down to you, we need to head back now, before things got out of hand here" _She then notices the irritation tone on his voice as she can hear the chatter from the Students of Saunders. _

"Are you mad?"

"Just frustrated, doesn't matter"

_Eirian then accompanies Miho to her seat before he excused himself to take a bathroom break, he went to the top floor that oversees the entire seating area and the stage at the center, he looks around for a moment in order to see where the bathroom is and then he bypassed two young girls that gave an intense and intimidating aura before he turned his back again as it caught his attention. _

_Wearing a dark gray uniform with black collars, one's a light blonde one while the other is quite similar to Miho with the exception of having a dark brown of color. _

_He stares a them for a second before he continues to walk away, he not only realizes that it was JIGA's sole enemy but also one of them is the sister of Miho according to what he read from her archives back in JIGA._

_One of them then stares back at Eirian, feeling suspicious from him. _

"Is something the matter, Erika?"

"That person we bypassed, isn't he one of those Panzer-Aces back in Germany?" _Erika stops from walking in order to take a close look at Eirian again. _

_The Commander then fallow suit as she also looks back at Eirian as he was about to disappear from their sights very quickly. _

"I think you're just imagining things, Erika" _She rebukes with a stoic expression before she started walk again. _

_Eirian then went to Bathroom in order to take a quick break from all the nonsense he got himself in during these few hours, not a single piece of evidence that Miho is a spy nor any sights of JIGA students whatsoever, doubts started to appear on his mind until he cools him mind off by washing his face at the sink._

"Not a single progress, yet I finally saw those Kuromorimine Students that Rommel used to mentioned about…" _He mumbled as he stares himself at the mirror. _

"Itsumi Erika, and Nishizumi Maho" _The voice of Rommel caught Eirian's attention as he was beside him, washing his face as well. _

"One's a ruthless Panzer-Ace, and one's a devoted loyalist to the Nishizumi" _Rommel explained as he dries his face with Eirian's handkerchief. _

"What a coincidence that we met here out of all the places, Rommel" _He then takes his handkerchief before he dries himself with it. _

"Neither do I. But I guess this place is a reasonable place to talk since outside is a battlefield of logistical gathering"

"Knowing your enemy is a crucial part of this battle of ours, and it seems like you didn't have that much of information you can report back to me, don't you?"

"It's because Miho is good at it, she doesn't seem to be a spy or some devoted loyalist to the Nishizumis"

"So you're saying that Nishizumi Miho is just a false flag?"

"From what I saw and experienced, she does look like a false flag"

"So are you calling off my Operation that I entrusted you to fallow it?" _Rommel became intrigued as he raised an eyebrow._

"Yes. But since this order is still under the wishes of the Leopold Family, I don't have any choice but to continue it" _He started to walk away._

"So this proved my statement then, you're nothing more than a devoted puppet for them then?"

"It's not the question of I doing this on my own will or blindly fallowing orders, but the real question is if we can win this bidding of theirs" _He stares back at Rommel for a few seconds with a stoic look on his face, awakening his old ego again before he decided to leave it be as he walks away from the bathroom._

"You're an intellectual little brother of mine, but too dumb to understand what's the truth of reality" _Rommel just chuckles while staring his reflection at the mirror beside him._

_As soon Eirian walks away from the bathroom, his phone started to vibrate again, he picks it up and saw that the time was already 9:40. It was time that Eirian needs to finish some business he had with a certain person from another school as he decided to leave the building and went to the town square before 10. _

_Eirian then arrives at the plaza and then his eyes caught at a young girl who was standing behind the white marbled fountain, a beautiful sight for boys and girls around the plaza as their stare at her, her blond hair tied in French Braid with a pair of a calm light blue eyes then notices the only Oarai Student in the area, she smiles at him after giving him a bow. _

"It's good to meet you again, _Herr _Wittmann-Haiiro" _She flashes a bright smile on him as she finally reunites with him once again._

* * *

**I apologize for the long delay but I hope this chapter satisfies you guys for this month, again due to circumstances I couldn't publish the chapters in a tuned schedule so I'm sorry in advance for posting it at different dates. **

**I'll do my best to fix my schedule next time, for now enjoy the chapter for the fullest :**

**Always Remember, World Building, Ever Expanding, Tanks to all, Panzer Vor :)**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

* * *

_Back in the building where the 63__rd__ Annual Draw is still ongoing, Haru, who's casually sitting on his seat, started to feel suspicious and worried to someone as it was getting late, his phone then started to vibrate from his pocket in which he received a text from that person he was feeling worried of. _

"Something just came. You guys go ahead and enjoy the place without me." _The message contains, making Haru a little bit relief but still curious about it causing him to mumble in return._

"Always mysterious, aren't yah, Eirian?"

* * *

_Eirian finally arrives at the place where he would meet Darjeeling. A public square in the center of the town, in which at the center of it is a large marvelous white marbled fountain, a marvel sight that can ease your mind for the moment. But standing in front of the fountain is a young girl wearing a student uniform, a dark blue pullover with blue skirt, black tie, and a white collared shirt underneath the pullover. _

_Her unique golden hair tied in a French braid added with her majestic and royalty appeal makes her stand out from the crowd as they stare at her in awe and envy, truly a lovely girl that patiently waits him to come. _

_Darjeeling then notices his arrival in which she greets him with a bright smile. _

"It's good to meet you again, _Herr _Wittmann-Haiiro"

"She's definitely something to investigate at or else I might risk my mission here" _His inner thoughts said to him as he smiles back at her before he decides to go with the flow for now. _

"At first I considered the letter was a joke, but it seems like I was fooled by my doubts" _He chuckle awkwardly. _

"A Lady won't do such a dirty trick that would burden someone, this also includes you, _Herr _Wittmann" _She responded with a light giggle in the end. _

"I see… so is there any particular reason for you to call me here?"

"Like I said from the letter, I wanted to know about you, in particular this mission of yours that you're currently doing" _This causes Eirian to gain interests to her even more as he now couldn't just ignore her as his mission was now in jeopardy, his task for today is investigate her and find a possible way out of this mess that he got in._

"Shall we talk this thing in somewhat private?"

"Oh my! I didn't think that you're that bold enough, _Herr _Wittmann. I'm just a lovely innocent young lady" _Her personality quickly turned 180 degrees as she was also a (slightly) pervert with a playful manner._

"Are you really the Overall Commander of St. Gloriana's Senshadou team?" _Eirian started to doubt her since she wasn't acting like it, almost making him irritated from it. _

"So you don't like being teased at, don't you?"

"It's utterly pointless, those inappropriate jokes are only allowed if we're a couple, we are set in a love novel, or an imaginative Fan-Fiction…" _He explained as he was unimpressed from her. _

"Guess the book of Royal Court didn't work out like I presumed it to be…" _She mumbled._

"You said something?"

"Oh, it's nothing, _Herr _Wittmann" _She lets out an awkward laugh. _

"Let's get back on the main topic here, let's get somewhere so we can have a long chat about your request from me" _He then looks around for a place for them to talk peacefully. _

"I do have a place in mind" _She suggested as she quickly caught his attention. _

"Then lead the way, _Miss Dodgy (_One that is suspicious)" _He gave a playful chuckle at her. _

"Don't mind me if I do, _Tee-Trinker _(One who drinks tea)" _She giggles as well as she led the way as Eirian fallowed suit. _

_They then went to a small café somewhere in the city, the place was located on top of a hill the has a view that overlook the entire Honshu harbor, the city of it, and even the building where they came from. Arjun Mk was the name of the café in reference for the Indian's Army MBT, Arjun MBT Mk 1. _

_The Workers in maid clothing then offered their service to both Darjeeling and Eirian as they greet them with a smile and enthusiasm. They got their seats at the first class in the balcony of the café, giving them the best spot to view the gorgeous landscape under the fine weather and calming breeze. _

_They take their orders and as Darjeeling suspected, Eirian ordered their finest tea, same as her but it was a surprise that Eirian prefers tea than coffee. _

"So, my insult was correct all along, you're a tea person then?" _She felt that she achieved something as her eyes were telling it. _

"I was a tea-person before you were born"

"What's your age then?"

"17"

"Then we shared the same age, but try to be specific…"

"April 22"

"Then I won. I'm older than you since I'm becoming a lovely lady at September 17th, _Herr _Wittmann" _She lets out a playful giggle, which in it by itself it was very cute. _

"Your day is the same day as the battle of Arnhem then?"

"Indeed, you know your history quite well… And I assume that your Birthday landed on the same day when the Americans landed in Hollandia, New Guinea during Operation Persecution, correct?"

"I'm impressed, not only that you're _Dodgy _but you're quite an intellectual as well, I should have called you _Ninny _from the start though…"

"Quite the flattering statement, should I be flattered right now?"

"Darjeeling my dear, I don't give a damn" _Their orders finally arrived as they still continue their "lovely" chat. _

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, dear"

"Truth never damages a cause that is just, Darjeeling"

"Mahatma Gandhi, interesting…" _She then started to sip her tea as it was still hot. _

"A peace-maker in a middle of a struggle of a country wanting to become independent from British Rule, quite admirable…" _Darjeeling quickly caught his tone of sarcasm. _

"You sounded a bit sarcastic; I assume that you have something against a fine gentleman like him?"

"I'm just don't go to well to Human's sincerity, for me they're just motivated by their self-interests" _His personality started to switch again as his showing his true colors to Darjeeling bit by bit. _

"So, this means the person I'm talking is his true nature, _Personality Einz, _no?"

"As suspected of the Director of St. Gloriana's GI6 Department, always trying to steal others' information for their own sake, quite an admirable lady indeed"

"To be honest, I really prefer your other personality but for the sake of this conversation, I'll tolerate your cynical manner for today" _She heaves a sigh._

"It doesn't bother me. So what's your own reason in interrogating me, your actions won't affect the outcome of this battle between the GPSF and JSF from finding the truth from yours truly, the Black Baron of JIGA"

"Indeed, I don't have the power nor influence to bring you down, but I'm certain that you're still naïve as ever, _Herr _Wittmann"

"Naïve? Why is that?"

"Did you already ask yourself the meaning of _Panzerkraft_?"

"Meaning of _Panzerkraft_? You're spewing non-sense"

"You're truly indeed a naïve person, oh how I pity you good sir"

"I don't know what you're planning…"

"Just give a try and guess what I'm planning with that question earlier, Sir" _She drops another playful smirk at him, causing him to feel that he's being played at by her, getting him a bit annoyed and irritated from it. _

"Then let me guess it…" _He grumbled a little before he started to close his eyes and thinks the meaning of her question. _

"A way to realize the potential of humans in recreational warlike sports such as _Panzerkraft_. Their prowess defines their character, potential, and enrich their self-esteem, importance, and responsibility in this growing society" _He explained after a couple of seconds of silence. _

"True, but you're wrong in that"

"In what way am I wrong from that?"

"You only memorized that, but you don't fallow that by your heart, _Panzerkraft _including Japan's _Senshadou _is about one thing, and that is to make everyone enjoy the sport. Without the passion and emotions to do _Panzerkraft _or _Senshadou_, the meaning behind it would be just useless, it's like you're riding the tank without a guide, a path, or a way for you to shine your true character" _She explained as she finishes her cup of tea. _

"Emotions and Passion, well isn't that a hindrance for someone trying to become the victors of this tournament?"

"The question is not about winning or losing, the question is if you're enjoying it"

"That's a foolish claim, there's no type of person that would just enjoy the entertainment of _Senshadou_, that's why there are tournaments, it's a way to truly show who' are the real victors by sweat, guts and wits"

"True, but our ideologies are different, but if I'm standing in your shoes, you're no advocate of those claims of yours"

"Care to elaborate that, you got the quite the sharp tongue since you didn't know me entirely…" _He stares at her, both curious and serious as she was now crossing his tolerance meter._

"Do you want to know what you look like in the eyes of someone like me?"

_Eirian only gives a slight nod at her as he was listening closely. _

"You're a Nihilistic, cynical, naïve man who's pretending to be himself even though someone is clearly controlling him" _For the first time, Darjeeling hits the bullseye with her sharp wits and tongue._

"So you finally learned my true nature then, you could even say that I'm a puppet myself to them" _He lets out a chuckle to ease the intense atmosphere as it was getting to him as if was like he's aware of his current situation and ignores it with a chuckle. _

"You know the truth but why are you still keep doing it?"

"My motives are simple, anything that would be an obstacle to them, is immediately my enemies. I'm their diffuser and that's my job, whatever they think is a hindrance to them, I'll quickly dispose them immediately. And now with this Kuromorimine being a hindrance to them, my task is to situate one of their plans and dispose it, nice and cleanly"

"Plans?"

"I think you already it since you're the Director of GI6, but if you still feel clueless like a little puppy, I'll tell you then"

_Darjeeling didn't spoke a word in respond as she allows him to continue, very intrigued as it was the first time she would hear what Eirian's mission was in Oarai Academy._

"Exploiting the motives of Nishizumi Miho" _He was dead serious to her, but for Darjeeling she looks at him confused and surprised at first before she ultimately covered her mouth with a handkerchief as she laughs like crazy but handled it like a fine lady would do._

"Is there something I said that was funny to you, I was serious about that" _He didn't feel irritated and in fact he was genuinely surprise by her reaction_, causing him to feel curious at her reason at it, and causing him to switch back to his other personality now, called _Personality Zwei. _

"Pardon me, and no _Herr _Wittmann, I do believe you, 100 percent, and I think you're going too well at your mission as we're currently speaking" _She giggles like a cute maiden. _

"You don't believe me, don't you?" _He started to doubt her as he gives her an unimpressed look at his eyes. _

"Integrity is telling myself the truth. And Honesty is telling the truth to other people" _She quoted with a frisky smirk on her face. _

"Girls are just so hard to comprehend…" _He sighs in disbelief as he doesn't want to argue with a playful personality like hers. _

"You're always like that, spewing out weird things like that" _She mumbled. _

"I heard you said something" _His effective hearing then caught that and was curious about it as he looks at her deeply in the eyes, quickly diffusing Darjeeling's frisky attitude as she blushes for the first time in the eyes of Eirian. _

"N-Nothing, don't take that for granted…" _She was acting weird as she has red spots on her face before she covered her face with her handkerchief out of embarrassment and humiliation. _

"If you say so, then should we leave this place now?"

"Sure thing, and who's gonna pay for the bill?" _She looks at him as she thought that he's gonna pay it. _

"It's you who suggested to go at this place, so you should be the one to pay this bill…"

"How rude. Aren't you a type of person who would pay the maiden's expenses for showing you a beautiful place to relax and just want to know more about you?"

"You were the one who suggested this place though…"

"But you're the one who demanded that we stay low at a private face" _She gives him a teasing smirk._

"Again, I don't want people to think inappropriate things about us… fine, I'll pay the bill for now" _He heaves a sigh of disappointment out of frustration as he lost 3 times in a row now from her. _

"That's a fine gentleman right there" _She gives me a smile that would easily made a man fall in love to her, except Eirian as she was just a manipulator like Rommel. _

_After paying the bill, both of them started to walk the cemented sidewalk through the crowded city as Eirian was (forced) accompanying Darjeeling towards St. Gloriana's meeting ground. Since Darjeeling is a girl and she get lost at the city due to its complexity layout, she begged Eirian to escort her like a knight would do but after some persuasion, Eirian finally yielded and pledged to accompany the manipulator of St. Gloriana for today at least. _

"Though you considered yourself a Nihilist, you still have morals left to accompany your Senior, how cute" _She smiles at him. _

"More like you forced me to do it…" _He replied. _

"Fear not. All obedient boys who showed chivalry to their Seniors are expected to be rewarded later, this also includes you, _Tee-Trinker" She giggled before Eirian quickly pushed her to the side as a suspicious biker passes by. _

"_Herr _Wittmann…"_ She was in utter shocked as Eirian did something out of his character or maybe that's his Personality Zwei that he used in Oarai and now. _

"First at all, don't call me Wittmann so lightly in public, it's classified… and second, I'm still doing my duties as a Junior, like it or hate it" _He sighs in frustration that he's gonna listen to Darjeeling's frisky attitude again. _

"So what do you want me to refer you with? Sir Haiiro, Eirian-Dono, or Eirian Haiiro?" _She takes a moment to stop on her tracks as she tried to confront him for a second. _

"Just call me whatever you want, but just refer me as Wittmann here, it's a classified info after all" _He answered before he started to walk again. _

"So how about Eirian then?" _She started to walk as she reached him eventually, walking at the same pace as him. _

"I don't care"

"That's cute of you to say that but deep inside you're probably happy that someone like me called you by your first name" _She started to tease him again with that (irritating) smirk of hers. _

"I really despise your frisky attitude, Darjeeling" _He gives an annoyed look at her in return. _

"You just don't like someone's integrity, so you just have to deal with it" _She chortles. _

"Whatever…"

_Soon the two of them eventually arrived at the front of a hotel in close proximity of Honshu's Harbor. Based from the looks of it, it's an apartment hotel for visitors that just arrived in mainland Japan via the harbor that is close to it. _

"So this is your meeting place, looks suspicious…" _He gazes at the sign behind Darjeeling, which he doesn't care at all as he wanted to go back to Zuikaku now. _

"Don't worry, the owner of this hotel is an alumnus of St. Gloriana, so you don't need to worry about your Senior" _She explains. _

"Yeah, don't really care about that… Anyhow, it's nice meeting you and goodbye" _He turns his back from her as he was about to leave the place but was stopped by her. _

"Hold on a minute, I did say earlier that obedient boys are expected to be rewarded, and you are one of them"

"I know, but I don't like any rewards from anymore, notably from a manipulator like you"

"My, aren't you a little bit harsh on your Senior. That's rude of you, Eirian…" _She acts like she was victim, almost causing a scene at entrance of the hotel as there were some townsfolks walking around._

"You cheeky bastard…" _He gave her an intense gaze in return which ultimately causes him to confront her again as he closely walks up to her. _

"Alright, what's this reward you're speaking of" _He wasn't having it but due to her manipulative and frisky attitude, his action is just go with the flow._

"I want you to kneel down, like a knight would do"

_Inside the lobby of the hotel, both Orange Pekoe and Assam arrived in order to pick up Darjeeling but as soon they stepped out of the elevator, they notice both Darjeeling and Eirian at the entrance, which they sneaked up before a pillar as they witness something. _

"Is that Miss Darjeeling?" _Assam asks. _

"It's her, and she's with him"

"So does that mean that the date went well?"

"I do not know, Miss Assam. But do you get that?" _As she refers the camera that Assam was holding. _

"Always" _She snaps another picture from her small camera on her hand. _

_As Eirian kneels down, he assumed that Darjeeling would do another humiliation to him in front of public but all she did was giving him a gentle head pat, causing Eirian to immediately opened his eyes as he was in utter surprise._

"I missed giving this to my Juniors, but since she's growing up into a fine lady, I couldn't do it anymore and since you're technically my Junior, I give this headpat as your privilege of being my Junior" _She explains in her calming voice, it was a feeling that could soft someone's heart, even a hardened one. Even though Eirian was getting headpats from her, Darjeeling was the one who's very happy from it. _

"I see that you're having fun at giving headpats to strangers then…" _Eirian said as he was still kneeling down, allowing her to stroke his hair until she is satisfied from it. _

"You're Special, and you should know that, Eirian" _She gives him a lovely smile before she gestured him to stand up now as she's satisfied._

"Right… Anyhow I'll be going now, and we should keep your interrogation earlier our little secret, okay?" _He finally gives in and smiled back at her. _

"A fine lady won't spoil her secrets to anymore, so rest assured, Eirian" _She gives a light giggle. _

"Thanks" _He then turned his back and walks away, parting ways from her. _

_Darjeeling's smile was still shining as she entered the lobby where both Assam and Orange Pekoe were waiting for her. _

"Welcome back, Miss Darjeeling. How was your meeting with the Commander of Oarai Academy?"

"It was very fun, Miss Pekoe"

"Seems like you were having fun at your little date, Darjeeling" _Assam shines her own smile at her as she's genuinely happy for her. _

"I feel a little envious at how he made you happy today, he must be truly a remarkable person to you, right Miss Darjeeling?"

"Have you heard this quote before, 'In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different' "

"That came from Coco Chanel"

"Yes, and I think you girls already what I meant in that quote by now"

"Hai" _Both Assam and Pekoe said in unison as Darjeeling finally found someone that can make her happy to the fullest, and that is Eirian in which they have finally reunited at last. _

"I hope he remembers me…" _She mumbled before looking back at the glass door behind her, seeing the empty entrance as she remembers Eirian once again._

* * *

_Meanwhile Eirian was walking down the sideway as he wanted to go back to Zuikaku via using their ferry at the harbor as the raffle draw was already over as the time was now exactly 12. While walking he was engulfed in thoughts again as he walks the patterned sidewalk under the clear weather, the place was alive and there's quite a lot of vehicles bypassing him. _

"We got Yukari who knows my identity, and Alina seems to know it as well but with an outsider like Darjeeling, this is going to be a difficult one to keep her at bay…" _He wondered as he turned a corner. _

_He was still wondering as he continues to walk aimlessly at sidewalk, slowly his attention gets abrupted by a very loud voice of a young girl who's getting louder and louder every second. Eirian quickly turns around and saw a young girl in a grey uniform that's about to jump at him, luckily Eirian managed to take a step back and causes the girl to fall on the solid ground, face first as she flops ungainly at the cemented sidewalk. _

"What exactly are you doing, Kotori?"

"Eirian-Senpai! I thought you left us for good!" _She quickly stands up and attempts to give him a big hug but Eirian wasn't looking forward to it as he holds her casually. _

"If you try to hug me, I'll knock you out for good…" _Eirian quickly switches to his Personality Einz as he started to threatened her, typical of him in that state of Personality. _

"Aren't you happy to see your Kouhai again!?"

"No, I'm not feeling anything sentiment to you since I really wanted to leave you due to your utter nonsense, Kotori" _He replied in a cold and harsh manner, easily causing Kotori to be upset as she started to tear up. _

"That's uncool of you, Eirian" _The voice of Agni then catches the attention of Eirian from behind as he was there for the whole time. _

"Agni! Eirian-Senpai is becoming a bad person to me again!" _She sobs as her eyes were very teary. _

"Don't give me that attitude Kotori, I know you and you're not that type to cry easily" _Eirian flung his hand on her head so he wanted to snap her out of it, but this only causes her to pout at her Senpai as her tears were gone. _

"Didn't you said to me that you won't hit a girl, Eirian?" _Agni gives a light chuckle at him._

"Kotori is the only exception of it, since she's a boy after all" _He scoffs. _

"Excuse me but I'm a girl, you know!"

"With that attitude of yours, no wonder no one tried to be your girlfriend" _He said with a visible smirk on his face. _

"Don't be such a such a meanie to me!"

"Well, it seems like you both are still in good terms as ever" _Agni just smiles at them as he offers Eirian a handshake and a hug as they were now reunited again as a duo. _

"Good to see you, Agni"

"Same to you as well, Kommandant"

"Well, isn't this a bit amazing! The trio is back at it again!" _Kotori was very delighted as they were back again, raising her fist in the air out of excitement and enthusiasm._

"Exactly how did JIGA managed to control her while I was gone?" _He quickly asks to Agni as he ignores her existence entirely for a moment. _

"Beats me, but she's a behaving girl so don't worry too much on her" _Agni responded before a chuckle followed suit. _

"Stop ignoring me!" _She gives them a scowl look on her face as she was getting angry at them. _

"Alright, Miss Kotori. In what way should we pay our misdeeds for ignoring you there?" _Agni asks in a calmly manner. _

"Let me think… How about we go to an arcade together again!"

"That sounds like a good idea, what do you say, Eirian?"

"No thanks, I have some business to attend" _He quickly turns them down as he wanted to go back to Zuikaku and take a rest as he was exhausted for today from being manipulated by Darjeeling. _

"Spoilsport…" _Both Agni and Kotori said in unison, immediately annoying Eirian in return. _

"Whatever, it doesn't matter to me anyway"

"Oh come on! Let's make some memories together again as a trio again!" _Kotori grabs his arm as she pulled out the oldest trick from the books, giving him puppy eyes in order to make him guilty from his decision at turning them down. _

"Like she said, Eirian. She really wanted to see you again, don't you know that?"

"I know that from Rommel, but she's really a lost cause without me, no?"

"Yup, she's really a lost cause since you kind of lied to her before you departed JIGA…"

"Please, Eirian-Senpai! I wanted to make memories again!"

"Seriously, how did I even picked you up… Fine, I'll join" _This makes Kotori to give him a bright smile as she was very happy that Eirian is joining them. _

"Yahoo!" _She jumps up and down as she was both energetic and eccentric as ever, reminding them their usual pastime back in JIGA. _

"Doesn't this bring up memories?" _Agni gives a smirk at Eirian. _

"Not really, anyhow you guys should lead the way" _He heaves a sigh of exasperation. _

"Good to have you back, Eirian" _Agni just smiles at him as he gave him a pat on the back before deciding to take the lead with Kotori beside him as they went to the nearest Arcade. _

_Eirian was at the back and he did remember the past as he stares at his two former colleagues, this causes Eirian to swayed his stoic and anger-tempered look to a faint smile on his face as it was quite nostalgic to him even just for a mere millisecond. _

_Kotori then notices him at the back and decided to join as he tries to annoy me like the usual as they made their way towards an Arcade near the building where the Raffle Draw happened, a modern looking Arcade with a bunch of slot machines, arcade games, and even a photo booth, it was like Disneyland for Kotori as she was in awe. _

"So this is the famous Galaxy Game Corner!" _She gasped in excitement. _

"What are you two waiting for, let's go!" _She grabs their arms as they made their way towards the inside of the Arcade._

_A Galaxy themed Arcade where the light shines like stars in a galaxy, even though the building was small at the outside it was quite large at the inside and this was added to that fact that their were a lot of Arcade games here, ranging from your standard fighting games, to racing, and even a virtual-gaming corner at one area of the room. _

"Since this is a celebration of Senpai back in the gang, I decided that I'll pay our entrance on my own" _She cheekily showed her credit card at them, feeling confident as she gives an impudent smirk at them. _

"So, you're saving your money now, how mature of you…" _Eirian sarcastically said in return. _

"Shut up! At least I'm trying, Senpai!" _She pouts in response before she decided to go the counter and buy them their tickets, leaving the duo behind. _

"Aren't you grateful that she paid our entrance, isn't that kind of her?"

"Kind? I thought she was always kind to everyone?"

"Well, we're talking about her savings here, she's not the type of person who's willing to spend a Euro, even for me when I asked her to treat me" _He explains. _

"I see, so she's working hard at her part-time job then?"

"Yup, she's doing very good at it" _They saw Kotori approaching them with 3 pouches on her hand. _

"Hey! I got us 30 coins each, so feel free to let your childhood roam wildly at this place!" _She giggles as she gave them their pouches. _

"Thanks Miss Kotori. So where should we head first?" _Agni then asks as he looks at Eirian, waiting for him to start their fun at the arcade. _

"I don't know a lot of Arcade games, but how about we ask Kotori here…"

"Oh! We should try this fighting game, it's very shiny and colorful!" _She gestured the first thing that caught her eye and it was a fighting game. _

"Sure thing, this looks fun, Eirian"

"Yeah, sure" _He simply fallows him. _

"So, who's my first victim then?" _Kotori then folded her sleeves as she sat at one end of the machine, very confident with that grin of hers. _

"I'll go first" _Agni happily complies as he sat at the opposite end of the machine while Eirian stands behind him, overlooking at his gameplay as the game soon started, as expected of the 2D fighting game, your goal is to render the opponent's health to zero in order to gain a victory on the match, with combos and even a fatality system, this game is prove to be a difficult one to master in a day. _

_The match over as Agni could know it, Kotori was quite a promising lady in terms of video game as the match only took 30 seconds as she quickly knocks Agni's character out with a perfect combo. _

"I won! So how about you next, Senpai?"

"No need, it seems like you were having fun"

"Yeah, but I wanted to fight you, you know, in these type of games" _She cheerfully explains as she tried to persuade him to have a match with her. _

"It's just pointless, why am I spending my time in this joystick just to defeat you even though we play _Panzer-Stil…"_

"Sounds like you are chickening-out, Senpai"

"What did you say?" _This greatly annoyed Eirian to the max as sometimes there are things that he cannot let it slide off, and that was one such example as she was picking up a fight on him. _

"You're a coward, because you're scared of losing" _She casually explains, trying to make him even more irritated to her. _

"Fine! I'll beat you down!" _He then quickly switches with Agni and he immediately picked his character. _

"Hey, Eirian. Do you know how to play this type of games?"

"Don't underestimate me Agni, I'm well capable of destroying her even in virtual games such as these" _He was overconfident until game started, he lost under a span of 25 seconds, a world record for Kotori._

"Knocked out!_" The screen said on Eirian's machine, Eirian was in utter shock as he was lost from a girl, specifically Kotori. _

"Again!"

"Sure thing, Senpai"

_Eirian have a losing streak of 20 matches out of 20 from that fighting game, but Eirian was not having it and decided to have a competition against Kotori in which they tried all the games at the arcade, in which he lost all of them, and even against Agni who's new to all of it managed to beat Eirian is an impressive streak. _

_All in all, Eirian really sucks at video games. _

"That's 34 games out of 35, and you lost all of it, Senpai" _She crouches down as she stroke Eirian's hair as he's down literally as his pride was wounded and his reality was now different. _

"That's kind upsetting to learn the fact that Eirian just sucks at video games…" _Agni's voice was full of pity on Eirian as Eirian was petrified from the truth. _

"Hey, how about we try that battling cage then?" _She catches Eirian's attention as she gestured a check-link fence with an open field at the center while a pitching machine stands at the end of the cage. _

"Alright then…" _Eirian then slowly stood up and went to the cage with Kotori, while Agni watches them from the bench as he watches the match between them for the last time. _

"Alright, Senpai! Let's see your skills in hitting them" _Kotori firmly grips the baseball ball as readied her stance, Eirian did the same but he was less competitive at it. _

_First it was Kotori's turn and it was level 1, and unexpectedly she couldn't hit a single one which causes her to feel a little bit grumpy as she couldn't even hit the slowest pitch out of the machine, she soon gave up as soon she reached the final level with 0 points. _

"This thing sucks! I think this game is broken!" _She then takes a quick look on Eirian's side and she couldn't believe it. Eirian managed to hit all of them and even hit the strike zone consistently, even at level 3, the fastest one, he strikes them with ease. _

"I think Eirian's specialty is not video games but sports like these" _Agni explains to Kotori as it was a discovery to Kotori that Eirian's prowess is only capable in Sports such at these. _

"That's a weird one, how did I didn't know that?"

"Because Eirian is not the people who's willing to have fun, I mean you do know his daily task is to do paperwork in his office right?"

"Yeah… I guess?"

"You didn't paid attention to that, don't you?"

"I'm sorry, Agni!"

_Soon Eirian walks away from the batting cage as he achieved a perfect score on the scoreboard yet he still acts it was nothing on him as he still lost 34 games from Kotori and that was an injury on his pride for being a competitive person._

"Did you have fun, Eirian?"

"I did let out some of my frustrations though, so I'm fine" _He gives him a nod. _

"Well, there's something that I need to check first, you guys should go ahead now" _Agni then looks at his watch before he excuses himself out of their group as he quickly disappeared from their sights. _

"Was there a particular promo he saw at one of those markets we bypassed earlier?"

"No idea, Senpai"

_With the sudden absence of Agni in the group, Eirian finally decided to end the afternoon with Kotori as he decided to escort her back to her ferry in the harbor as it was now the time for them to return their own lives. _

_They walk side by side in the sidewalk under a quiet neighborhood, the carefree and relaxing breeze caresses Kotori's crimsoned twin-tail as it fallows the breeze of the wind, making her quite appealing in the eyes of someone. _

"Today's a bit windy, isn't it? Senpai?" _She looks up on him. _

"Indeed…"

"Say Senpai, you changed a lot"

"How can you say that"

"Well, for starters, you're quite nice to me now, I remember back in the day that you used to leave me in many instances" _She explained. _

"Because this is a special circumstance, this is your first time here and I don't want you to be lost around here, who knows what happened to you"

"So you do have a heart after all, Senpai" _She finally sees a light in him as she was happy for him and his new development of being a new person under that typical ego of his. _

"I won't allow you to get kidnapped and spoil those precious JIGA secrets to our enemies, so that's why I'm doing this to you"

"I take that back, you're still heartless as ever, Senpai…" _She was unimpressed. _

"Tell me that when you finally learn how to become a proper lady, Kotori" _He lets out a smirk. _

"What are you saying, I'm a proper lady!" _She rebukes._

"No, you're not, and try to hold still" _He then stops on his track as he tries to fix her necktie and collar as it was jumbled up, this causes Kotori to blush like a tomato in return as Eirian was very close to her. _

"S-Senpai?!" _She was getting embarrassed from him. _

"I fixed your collar and necktie, now you look like a proper girl" _He then started to walk away as completely ignores her peculiar expression. _

"Being dense as ever, that's my Senpai alright" _She mumbled to herself before she walks beside Eirian at the same pace. _

_Soon they arrived at the harbor, it was already 6 PM and the sky was now getting dark, dusk finally settles in as the Sun in the horizon slowly descends into the vast ocean. It was now the time for them to say their goodbyes to each other as Zuikaku's last ferry was about to leave for today. _

"So this is our last chance to meet up again, I'm getting sad again, Senpai…" _Kotori was acting very upset at it. _

"Quit your blabbering, anyhow I'll see you next time, Kotori"

"Still being harsh on your Kouhai even though it's our last goodbye…" _She gives her puppy eyes again._

_Eirian quickly snaps her back into reality again as he flung his hand again on her small head with a scolding fallowed suit. _

"Don't be an idiot! I'm still a JIGA Student, and still, I don't want you to be sad forever…" _This causes Kotori to see Eirian's secret nature again, being kind to his subordinates under that scary look on his face, this only results of Kotori hugging Eirian from behind. _

"Thank you for being kind to me, Senpai" _She thanks him as she was genuine happy. _

"Whatever… Anyhow I need to go now, try to be a good girl while I'm gone, okay?" _He then turns around to comfort her one last time as he gave her a gentle and lovely headpat, caressing her crimson hair for the last time as he bids a farewell to his Kouhai. _

"Well do!" _She quickly gives him a peck on the cheek before she entered the ferry leading to JIGA in a span of just 1 minute, with a wide smile on her face she bids a farewell to a petrified Eirian. _

_Eirian then came back to reality after a moment of silence before he gives his farewell to her as well, he started to walk towards the ferry of Zuikaku as he enough for today as it was quite eventful for him as he was also happy in the end that people doesn't change, just the way that he likes it. _

"People don't change, do they? Also, what's up with her… Kissing me all of a sudden" _He mumbled before he soon boarded Zuikaku's ferry. _

"Our plan was a success, Rommel" _Agni lowered his binoculars before he reports it back to Rommel as it was sitting casually on top a tree that has a decent view of the harbor in front of it. _

"Is it true that there's actually an amalgamation of his personality today?" _Rommel asks._

"Well, indeed his situation is different because of Akane's eccentric nature today but this is my first time seeing the amalgamation finally unfolded, so does that mean that your theory is right?"

"Seems like it… I guess Oarai really did affected his personality. For now, we call this personality of his _Personality Drei _(Three), an amalgamation of both his true personality and his façade that he used in Oarai for the current being"

"So, does that mean my job for today is done?"

"Yes, and hurry up before our ship leaves you…"

"Will do, but first I need to check that Promo that I bypassed earlier, it sounded really delicious!"

* * *

_Eventually Eirian returned back to his apartment as the sky was now dark and the neighborhood was now peaceful and quiet. The hallways leading to his room was very quiet and empty but as soon he went to the floor that his room is located, he saw Nishizumi Miho that was waiting for him at his front door. _

"Miho? What are you even doing at a time like this?"

"Eirian! Where were you been?!" _She quickly approaches him as she was genuinely worried about him._

"Sorry about that Miho, something came up and I really need to do that, so I left early without telling you or to the President, but surely I told Haru to tell it to the others"

"Yes, he told us about it, but I do feel the benefit of the doubt…"_ She then gets upset._

"You doubt your Assistant? That's unusual for you, Miho" _Eirian gives a chuckle to ease the situation. _

"N-N-No! I don't doubt you! But you're being lonely a lot lately, so is there something bothering you that you keep your problems to yourself, Eirian?_" She looks up at him as she wanted to know what he feels really. _

"So you were worried then…" _He mumbled as his thoughts are now getting conflicted again. _

"Of course! I'm your friend, Eirian" _She assures him with a smile on her face, causing Eirian to discovery something new from her which causes him to smile back at her. _

"That's… good to know" _He then gives her a headpat, this causes Miho to form some red spots around her cheeks. _

"Y-yeah…" _Her voice then become a little soft on him as she was flattered. _

"You should head to bed now; we have classes tomorrow" _He then lowers his hand as he reaches his door knob. _

"H-Hai! And Eirian"

"Yes?"

"Have a good night" _She gives him a smile before she enters her room, Eirian also did the same as he hasn't had the time to reply her, and instead he went entered his room. _

_But as the soon he closed the door behind him, he heaves a sigh as he slowly slides down on the floor, he takes something out of his pocket and it was a picture of him together with Agni and Kotori, all of them were smiling including him as well. _

"How the hell did that happen… DAMN this is such a weird day!"

_He then decided to put the picture on top of his desk. Exhausted for today as he went to his bed, ultimately ending the day in an instant as he slept like a log as he prepared himself to the usual day for tomorrow for being a normal student in Oarai Academy._

* * *

**Kouhai, just who are you really? (I'll definitely scold him when he gets back) Well, that's our chapter for today, hope you guys like it! - Anzu Kadotani/AK**

**Feel free to give a review on it, as well to share it to your friends and colleagues so I can have the motivations to carry on with this series :3**

**Always remember! World building, Ever expanding, thanks to all, Panzer Vor :))**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"You're too dumb to understand what's the truth of reality, no?" _A voice that was coming from the dark abyss surprises Eirian as he opened his eyes._

_Eirian founds himself standing under a single spotlight, it was the only light source to him as everything else was just a shadowy abyss of nothingness. _

"You're a Nihilistic, cynical, naïve man who's pretending to be himself even though someone is clearly controlling him" _Another voice came forward to Eirian as he listens closely._

"I think I already know where I am now, can I leave now?" _He asks in a wishful manner, looking beyond the dark abyss as after a second of silence he received a reply. _

"Tell me, who's in total control, you, or them?" _The voice of distortion from the abyss gave its reply to him in a form of a question._

"I'm in total control of myself, no strings attached, I'm myself and myself only"

"Second question, do you think what you're doing is the better good for everyone?"

"What kind of barbaric question is that, our aims are for the better good for everyone, unity is a must in a progressing society"

"So you're willing to destroy one's uniqueness for this unity we seek of?"

"Yes. Individualism is nothing but a mere hindrance for us, what we seek is a global unification of a settled system of this sport"

"Final question. What are your current feelings toward Panzerkraft?"

"Huh?"

"Like I said earlier, you're not yourself, you found yourself stuck in this unending loop of being a puppet. Your true feelings toward this sport that you once loved altered to be an impossible one to pinpoint to someone, are you true to yourself or you locked it away like how you locked your freedom from them…"

_Eirian was not impress from the abyss' sympathetic monologue to him, yet he feels something inside. Is that what the abyss was referring of? Nonetheless Eirian tightens his grip and gazes back at the abyss with an aggressive intent. _

"I'm myself, I know my feelings for Panzerkraft so it's time to wake up from this non-sense dream!"

_Eirian found himself fully awake from his bed, he looks over the alarm clock at his right and he was late for class, very late. _

"_Verdammt… _(Damn it)" _He curses himself as he stares at the clock, it was already lunch by the time he wakes up._

* * *

_In Oarai's 2-A Classroom, it was already lunch time as all the members of Fox Team has gathered around to have their lunch together, but something was missing, really missing that it is surreal._

"This is the first time that Eirian skipped classes today, is he okay?" _Elizabeth asks as she was perturbed from the fact that they didn't saw him since yesterday. _

"I texted him earlier but he isn't replying" _Haru said to her, furthering increasing their anxiety and concern for Eirian._

"I'm sure he'll pick up that message sooner or later" _Natsuki assures Haru as he tries to text Eirian again. _

"Hey Alina, do you have any clues at where Eirian could be?" _Elizabeth quickly asks to Alina as she remained quiet from all of these._

"Why would I care, for all I can tell, he might be plotting against us or to Miho Nishizumi over there" _She answered, her tone was dead giveaway as she was uninterested and doesn't care about the situation. _

"Apathetic towards our Commander, classic Miss Von Pavlov" _Natsuki stated. _

"Oh come on you guys! We still don't know where Eirian could be! Heck, we didn't even know if he returned to his place yesterday in the first place!"

"You need to chill out, Elizabeth. Zuikaku's ferries would only return here if all the registered passengers has boarded the ship, and since there's no news of someone missing from yesterday, not yet at least… then we can say that our lousy villainous Commander is still here" _Alina responded as she showed them her phone, it was an app of Oarai Academy's Journalism showcasing the news that happened yesterday and earlier today. _

"So he's fine!?"

"Hold your horses yet, I said not yet, but certainly that guy is fine, he might just probably plot something mischievous to someone here…" _She then peeks the empty desk of Miho Nishizumi as she turned her face around._

* * *

_Eirian sneezes as soon he takes out the garbage bag on the trash can just outside of his apartment, wearing his casual clothing he decided to take a stroll around town since he got nothing to do for today as well he skipped classes, might as well remember the neighborhood a bit he says. _

_Taking a stroll around Zuikaku's Oarai was not interesting for the most part to him, though the smell of the ocean's salt water and the fierce breeze when walking right next to the railings of the ship is both mesmerizing and peaceful as he senses of tranquility when nobodies around him nor disturbs him. _

_He takes a moment and stares at the ocean blue under the white plentiful clouds playing in the sky with birds chirping and the strong sunlight illuminating the artificial man-made metal balcony that he was standing on and its surroundings. _

"Everything is at peace here; you couldn't even tell that this place will soon meet its fate at the end of this tournament…" _He felt something within him as he continuous to stare at the calm waters of the ocean, a little bit amount of sympathy as what Oarai Academy is facing is one of the most fearsome teams in Panzerkraft. _

_It's already a common knowledge that defeating the all-time favorite Kuromorimine Academy, last year's champions the Pravda High, or even the British St. Glorianas, the dreams of Anzu Kadotani, Oarai Academy and its revived Senshadou team is nothing more than a dream he said to himself._

_Further adding to the fact that there are more teams competing this tournament as well, this include his school, J.I.G.A, and that school was known for its powerful team, even rivaling to better yet surpasses the prowess both the Nishizumis and Kuromorimine he further added. _

_But as Eirian reminded himself again, his mission here in Oarai was clear. Investigate, exploit, and return back to J.I.G.A and lead it to victory, but as soon he told himself the word victory, he immediately recalled a certain memory from yesterday from his former colleague. _

"_Don't be an idiot! I'm still a JIGA Student, and still, I don't want you to be sad forever…"_

"What was that about, I didn't recall any memories before of giving her such a false and cringy promise…" _He then stares at his palm before he quickly remembered what happened at his dream earlier. _

_After evaluating his dream, he found the conclusion about its meaning and origin of influence rather quickly. _

"Should have never exhausted myself yesterday…" _He rubs his head as he underestimated the events yesterday, from going to a new place to exhausting himself from both to Kotori and Darjeeling. _

"Or maybe Oarai and its people influenced me…. Wait, that's impossible" _He started to ponder again until he reaches to the point that it irritates him, soon he went back at strolling and went to a different place to cool his head as well to see some new sights from the neighborhood. _

_He arrives at a small park that is close to his school, it was surrounded by small buildings and many intersections. The cars are moving slowly, the people were doing their own things, and the park itself as empty yet clean. _

_Eirian then went ahead and sat on a wooden bench, under the shade of the tree as he passes his time there for a while, looking around aimlessly and stares at what the people of Zuikaku's residence were doing. _

_Nothing was very eye-catching for him for the most part not until he heard a familiar humming in the distance, he turned his eyes over to the distant and saw a young Oarai student wearing a konbini's (convenience store) uniform with an eye-catching military backpack on her back. _

"What's she is doing here?" _Eirian wonders as he tried to catch her attention by waving his hand in the air and it works. _

_Yukari Akiyama who was just minding her business as she tries to bypass the park then notices Eirian, catching her attention before she ultimately approaches him with a wide smile on her face. _

"_Herr _Wittmann!" _She quickly approaches him. _

"Hey Akiyama"

"Is school suspended for today, _Herr _Wittmann?" _She tilts her head in confusion. _

"Well, not really…" _He avoids looking at her as it was embarrassing to say to her that he overslept himself today. _

"But anyway, why are you wearing a _Konbini's _uniform?" _He then points out her peculiar set of clothing as he sat back on the bench again, intrigued as Yukari has something to offer to him to possibly pass his current free time for today. _

"Don't tell me that you're working a part-time job today?"

"Well, I did take a job back in the day, but I just did something that would help our efforts against Saunders, after all, nothing is greater than obtaining intelligence from our enemies" _She chuckles. _

"Alrigh- Wait. What exactly did you do, Akiyama?" _Eirian was completely bewildered at her. _

"Oh, I just infiltrated Saunders earlier, and gathered some important information that would help us" _She then tries to search something from her backpack as she as well sat on the bench beside him. _

"Akiyama, we have the internet?!" _Eirian clamored at her, causing Yukari to look at him in a turmoil manner, surely Eirian would be grateful at her efforts but it might the opposite she thinks. _

"But nothing beats a good intelligence gathering if you just infiltrate their enemy territory, isn't that your way of knowing your enemies with concrete evaluation?" _She asks._

"Don't be absurd, it's just the same if you look at their website in the internet" _Eirian heaves a sigh. _

"And besides… I want to be a use to you and Nishizumi-dono…" _She added, further solidifying that she does this from her own will in which Eirian was able to realize it as he heard her tone of discontent. _

"Is that your reason? So you went your own way to infiltrate a school to know their strengths, weaknesses, their tanks deployment and plans, just for the sake of being helpful to us?" _Eirian asks as Yukari simply nodded while she couldn't face him. _

"Just every way I go, there's always that type of girl that will do everything just to feel contented from helping its superior that went overboard…" _Eirian releases yet again a sigh of disappointment while Yukari felt uneasy at him as she's scared to him. _

"There's nothing good in the end if you failed your task Akiyama"

"It's fine _Herr _Wittmann! I assure you that I won't get caught at doing it!" _She claimed as she was fine and very sure of herself, but upon seeing him in close inspection she felt that Eirian was feeling something else other than what she expected. _

"Don't be a moron! Not only it would risky but you're going into an unknown territory, who knows what they do to you when you get captured!" _Eirian exclaimed. _

"_Herr _Wittmann…"

"And I don't like the idea of you spilling our information to the enemy so casually during interrogation" _He explained as he was feeling dubious to her. _

_Yukari just stares at him in confusion before she lets out a light chuckle, causing Eirian to question her as she thinks that Eirian was just a caring person and hides it from her, even though she knew what Eirian and his past was like. _

"I'm being serious here, I don't want you get hurt or getting captured from our enemies, Akiyama…" _Eirian was embarrassed. _

"Well, it's just that you have a soft side to your comrades and you have a unique way of hiding it" _She wipes out her tear of joy as she felt lightly on her chest now. _

"And I just wanted to say that thank you, _Herr _Wittmann!"

"Huh?! What are you thanking me about?"

"Well, because even though I know what your past and personality is like, you still have some soft side towards your compatriots and you showed that to me, I'm both surprised and genuinely happy that you cared about me" _She shows him a chirpy smile which causes Eirian to blush a little from it before he avoids looking at her. _

"I think I have the basic grasp of your past just now, so are you willing to be a friend to a monster like me?"

"What do you mean, of course I would still be your friend, even though your reasons here are unkown even to me, but seeing you that you cared about your subordinates right now then I don't think there's anything wrong about befriending you, Haiiro-dono!" _She casually explains to him. _

"So do you think that you can be my friend, Haiiro-dono?"

"You just need to asks permission to me or to Miho before you go willy-nilly infiltrating a school, if you do that accordingly then yes, I'm willing to be your friend" _He smiles back at her before he gave her a pat on the head. _

"I just noticed that you really like to give pats to everyone, huh?" _She softly mumbled as she was blushing that someone pats her fluffy hair for the first time and the one who does that was the one that she admired for a long time now. _

"Alright, that's enough scolding for today, care to see me what your report is all about?"

"Hai! We can do that at my house, Haiiro-dono! It's only a few blocks away from this park"

"I see… Guess going to someone's house won't be much of a bother if it's about our team, right?"

_Yukari quickly realizes what he said and blushes for a moment. _

"I-I m-mean! That my house is technically a barber shop so it's fine if you ask my parents about it, Haiiro-dono!" _She responded. _

"Did you just say Barber-shop?"

* * *

_Both Eirian and Yukari arrives at a small barber shop within few blocks away from the park. It was a two-story building and it seems that at the back of the building that one can easily infiltrate it by walking at the roof and enter at one of the windows over there._

"Akiyama-Barber shop" _He said as he looks over the white almost fainted signage at front of the shop with the typical barber's pole at the side of the door. _

"So do you occasionally help your parents around here?" _He asks to her as he opened the door, which the sound of the bell within the doorway causes him to meet both of Yukari's parents just as immediate as he entered the premise with her. _

"Oh, welcome to Akiyama's Barber shop" _A young lady in a pink-apron then greets Eirian, probably it was Yukari's mother as she and Yukari shared the uncanny hairstyle, albeit Yukari is fluffier than her. _

"Hello, I'm Eirian Braun Haiiro. I'm Yukari's friend, sorry for the intrusion" _Eirian introduces himself to them. _

"Did he just say HE'S Yukari's friend?!" _Yukari's father then became overly-excited as he approaches Eirian as he was utterly confused. _

"Dear, I think you need to hold your excitedness or you will lose our potential customer her" _She quickly calms him down before she was the one who greeted Eirian, unbeknownst to Eirian that Yukari suddenly disappeared behind him. _

"Sorry about that, he was just surprised as I am that my dear Yukari has finally have some friends now. My name is Akiyama Yoshika, I'm Yukari's mother"

"And the one you met earlier was Yukari's father, Akiyama Jungorou" _She gestured at her husband in a grey apron at the back. _

"Nice to meet you both" _He bows his head again to them and now he finally realizes that Yukari was gone behind him, which it could stir up some problems but for now he must pretend that he needs to see her. _

"Is Yukari home?" _He then asks. _

"Sadly, she went somewhere else, she said it was important but I would be glad if you wait her in her room along with her friends"

"Wait, someone is waiting for Yukari as well?"

"Yes, and I think you may know them since they're the students of Oarai as well" _She then started to guide him to her room. _

"How did you know that I'm also a student of Oarai?" _He raises his eyebrow as he was following her. _

"Well, believe it or not, she sometimes talks about you in the dinner table along with a girl that has a name Nishizumi on it" _She lets out a light chuckle._

"I see…" _He doesn't understand it. _

_Eventually they arrived at the doorstep of Yukari's room and this is where she parted ways since she has a business to watch after she thanks Eirian for something before he went inside her room. _

"Mister Haiiro, I just wanted to say thank you for taking care Yukari for both me and her father" _She gives a bow to him as well. _

"Not a problem, miss Yoshika!" _He bows his head in response as well. _

"Also, my daughter is clean and innocent, if you ever do something that would upset her, I'll punish you okay?" _She then gives him a good advice before she slowly departs away, leaving Eirian in turmoil for the rest of his visit. _

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to do anything for you daughter here…" _He mumbles as he got chill down his spine before he opens the door of Yukari's room and entering it. _

_He bypasses the red palette noren on the doorway and met Miho's group upon entering the museum. _

"Eirian?" _Miho then looks at him as she and her friends were waiting for Yukari as they sat around a small rectangular Chabudai. _

"So miss Yoshika wasn't lying then, you came to visit Yukari like I am" _He then checks around the museum in Yukari's room, jerrycans at one side, a cabinet full of scale models of WW2 tanks, posters about tanks or vehicles filtered around the walls, and a 1:1 model of shell ammunitions at the side of Yukari's desk. _

"Why are you here, Mister Haiiro?" _Hana then asks to him as Eirian was inspecting a real FuG 16 Z radio on top of her desk. _

"I met her, of course" _He looks around a bit more as he was very intrigued at Yukari's hobbies and her room, truly she's a WW2 enthusiast as everywhere he looks, all of them has a relationship to WW2 or in Tanks in general. _

"What?! You met Yukarin earlier, then, where is she?" _Saori quickly asks as Eirian finally looks back at them. _

"I don't know, she suddenly disappeared when I entered this place, maybe she might do something like a grand entrance?"

"Why would Yukari do a grand entranc-"

_Then suddenly the window behind Eirian opened from the outside as Yukari enters it in her own style of a grand entrance, surprising all of them. _

"Yukarin?" _Saori asks in confusion as she and the others were confused at her way of entering her room. _

"Huh, why are you all here?"

"Ahm, wouldn't we ask why you enter your room in a peculiar manner?" _Eirian responded with a question instead as he takes a sit on her bed. _

"Well, you didn't contact us, so we were worried" _Hana then answers her question. _

"I apologize. I had my phone off" _she explains. _

"Now did Hana mentioned it, I think I left my phone back at my room huh…" _Eirian soliloquize as he recalled that he left his phone back at his apartment. _

"Exactly why didn't you come from the front door, huh?" _Saori immediately asks. _

"Well, my father would worry if he saw me dressed like this" _She nonchalantly explains. _

"Not only you wore that _Konbini's _uniform which is very odd, but you're dirty as well, exactly where did you went, Yukarin?"

"That's perfect timing! I want you all to see this and since Haiiro-dono is here as well, we might as well show him what I did earlier" _She smirks intently as she showed them a black Flash drive device that she pulled from her backpack. _

_Once she inserted the flash drive into the back of the monitor, the 6 of them were greeted a video that was made by Yukari herself, a video about her infiltration in Saunders University High School. _

_Not only that Yukari filmed everything (almost everything in her journey even that part where she's about to change her uniform, luckily Miho was there and she managed to cover his eyes at the specific scene) but her filming showcased everything from their School-ship to a meeting that is exclusive for its members in Senshadou team, its plans, its tank deployment, and the great chase at the end. _

_After further evaluation from the film she recorded, both Eirian and Miho has an idea of their upcoming opponents in the tournament as the video was finally over. _

"You forgot to edit out that specific scene, don't you, Yukarin?" _Saori asks while Yukari was simply whistling as it was her fault to be honest. _

"And what's with your weird name, Sergeant Oddball?" _Hana also asks as she couldn't get the reference._

"I'm curious, just how did you managed to get a Saunders' uniform?" _Mako lazily asks as she was curious as well. _

"So, we're facing 10 tanks at our first match, huh?" _Eirian looks at Miho as they evaluate their enemies' strength. _

"8 M4 Shermans with the 75mm turret, 1 Sherman A1 with the 76mm gun, and 1 Sherman Firefly…" _He added._

"And since we confirmed that each of them has 3 tanks per platoon then we can assume that they have 3 platoons with 1 Sherman either left undefended like their Commander said so or it might as well join one of those 3 platoons" _Miho then explains as she has the flash drive on her hand now. _

"I guess Yukari's pre-reconnaissance was more useful that I thought it would be…" _Eirian said as he looks back at Yukari as she was talking to her friends._

"Then what are your thoughts about it before seeing the video, Eirian?" _Miho asks out of curiosity. _

"What she did was harrowing, I don't like people risking their lives just for the sake of them proving useful, and as much as possible she might just stroll through the internet so she couldn't harm herself…" _He explains as he was grateful that Yukari was unharmed, this causes Miho to chortle at the embarrassed Eirian in return. _

"Well, that's Eirian for you alright" _She continuous to chortle until she gave him a genuine smile. _

"Stop teasing me…" _Eirian then turns around before standing up as he now decided to leave. _

"Hey, Yukari. I'm going out now, thanks to the video of yours I might as well started to make some plans now" _He told to Yukari as he opens the door. _

"Hai, take care of yourself, Haiiro-dono!"

"Will do, and see you all tomorrow" _He then closes the door behind him, after bids a farewell to them and Yukari's parents, Eirian went home before the sun finally sets down. _

_Upon arriving at the hallway, he discovers that both Natsuki and Elizabeth were waiting for him patiently while they were still in their uniform. _

"Kosuke, and Elizabeth? What are you two doing here?" _Eirian tilts his head as he was perplexed. _

"Eirian?!" _Elizabeth then notices him and quickly jumped towards him, luckily Eirian took a step back as she hugs the floor instead. _

"I didn't tell anyone to hug me so casually and in the open, Elizabeth…" _Eirian was unenthusiastic about it. _

"But I'm just happy that you didn't get kidnapped by some shady group that would sell your organs in the black market!" _Elizabeth was tearing up as she was glad to see him again in one piece. _

"Why is that oddly specific?"

"Because she was very worried to you, Commander" _Natsuki explains before she helps Elizabeth to stand up properly. _

"And you're wearing a nice set of casual clothes, oh you made me proud as your elderly sister, Eirian!"

"Stop that, Elizabeth. You would only annoy the neighbors here" _Eirian then approached the door of his room instead and tries to open it. _

"If you guys wanted to talk to me or something, please come inside" _He added as he was the first to enter his room. _

_Without any hesitation both Elizabeth and Natsuki entered his room for the first time, they were amazed at Eirian's simplicity design and the apparent sense of his minimalistic in decorating. _

"Never knew that your room is simple and clean, Commander"

"Alright, where's your dirty magazines!" _Elizabeth then quickly check Eirian's bed as she scanning for his supposed dirty mag. _

"Please don't do anything rash that would kick us both out of here, miss Elizabeth" _Natsuki simply pulls her by the collar as she tries to handle her. _

"Geez… you're no fun at all!" _She showed Natsuki her unimpressed look as she wasn't going with the flow. _

"You do need to remember that we're guests here, not roommates" _She sighs. _

_Eventually Eirian arrives with some snacks and tea while Elizabeth settles herself at the cozy zabuton pillow on the floor. _

"What happened to both Haru and miss Yeti?" _Eirian asks as he sat down on his bed while taking a sip on his home-made tea. _

"Well, Alina said she doesn't bother meeting with you so she went ahead as usual, but for Haru, well he said he have some errands to do so he left earlier" _Elizabeth explains while she was stuffed from the snacks. _

"Errands?"

"Well, the Takehiro family has their own Family store, so maybe Haru is helping her elder sister right now" _Natsuki explains as she takes a sip from his tea. _

"Haru has a shop?"

"Yup, you should go there sometimes, they offer a quiet amount of services there" _Elizabeth stated. _

"The shop was now being maintained by his elder sister, which was a former player of _Senshadou_"

"A former player?"

"Hai, after a severe punishment, she couldn't participate _Senshadou _anymore and that's why she resigned and became Haru's sister and a clerk at their store" _Elizabeth explains. _

"I see…"

* * *

_Meanwhile outside a grocery store is Takehiro Haru cleaning, sweeping any dirt his eyes could see as he thoroughly cleans the front of his Konbini. _

"Haru! We're about to close the shop now!" _The voice of a lady catches the attention of an exhausted Haru as he wiped his sweat away with his handkerchief before giving a reply to her. _

"I'm coming!" _He puts away the broom before he meets up with her sister inside the store._

"I'm very sorry Haru for calling you out, I'm sure you're very exhausted from today's school and work" _His Elder sister apologizes as she was still behind the counter, feeling worried about her little brother. _

"It's fine sis, since you can't move much due to your health problems, and it is in my duty as your younger brother to do your work for you!" _He declared as he smiles at her._

"But how about your _Senshadou _training today?"

"We didn't have practice today, luckily… and hopefully that would happen again by tomorrow…" _He mumbles._

"Haru, haven't I told you that you should let go of your hatred against _Senshadou _and just play like you usually do?"

"And experiencing another disaster like what happened to you 5 years ago?" _Haru firmly looks at her sister. _

"Oh Haru… accidents are prone to happen, you couldn't stop it neither would I…" _She condemned. _

"But still… playing _Senshadou _would only cause problems to everyone if someone got hurt, but since I made a promise to you, I won't break that no matter what…"

"And also, sis, if you ever have the chance to meet my friends, please don't tell them about my secret, it would be very upsetting if they know that I dislikeparticipating _Senshadou_" _He then asks her for a favor as he doesn't want to ruin his friendship to them. _

"I will, but will there be a time for me to see that you finally enjoyed doing _Senshadou, _Haru?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm stuck at this feeling of worriedness to my friends every time we're doing _Senshadou_… I still couldn't forget the sadness from our parents' faces when you were confined at the hospital, there I realize that I should just stop admiring such dangerous sport altogether…" _He explained as he felt himself that he was just a coward. _

"Oh Haru…"

"Well, enough sobering for today, we still have work to do today, right sis!" _Haru quickly turned 180 as he was back to his usual self again. _

"Ahm, Haru, you do know that it's our closing hours now"

* * *

_After a couple of days of training, Oarai Senshadou's members then received their own uniform; a dark blue jacket with white and red trim, worn over a sera fuku (for girls) or pants (for boys) with a darker green scheme, they also received their own (High-topped) climbing boots._

_3 days of training ang 1 day for preparation, everything happened smoothly without any hindrances. Now with Oarai being prepared than before they finally made their way towards the first day of the official 63__rd__ tournament of High School Senshadou's starting ground. _

_Eirian, Miho, and the student council decided to make their last-minute check on all of their tanks as they check their tanks one by one in which all of the tanks are repainted into a monochromatic camouflage schemes as well as reassigning their new designations_:

* * *

Team A - Anglerfish team - A pink Anglerfish - Miho's group

Team B - Fox(y) team - A fulvous red fox - Eirian's group

Team C - Duck team - A white duck - Volleyball team

Team D - Hippo team - A blue hippo (backside) - Reki-jo/Historian buffs

Team E -Turtle team - A 2-legged turtle - Student Council

Team F -Rabbit team - A knife-wielding rabbit - Juniors

* * *

"Did you all finished servicing?!" _Momo asks to all the teams. _

"Hai!" _All of them reply in sync. _

"Our Rabbit is fine over here!"

"Hippo's armament is ready for engagement"

"The Duck's spike is about to enter service!"

"The IV is ready over here"

"Foxy team is ready for hunting!"

"Then if that's the case then all stand by until the match starts!" _Momo explained. _

"Wait, I think I forgot the ammunitions?!" _Yuuki, their radio operator, immediately said to them._

"That's the most important thing, you know!" _Aya, their 37mm loader, responded as she reminded her. _

"I'm sorry…" _Yuuki apologizes in return before all of them decided to burst out a laughter to lessen their stress and pressure for now. _

"Pretty lax, I would say" _A young girl in a brown short twin-ponytails with brown eyes with slight freckles calls out the attention of the entire Oarai's team._

"I'm surprised you're even able to enter this tournament like that" _She further added. _

_Grey blazer, red skirt, and a white collared shirt with a black tie. The one who trespassed Oarai's terminus a quo are none other than the students of Saunders University High School, Oarai's first opponents for the tournament. _

"What are you here for!?" _Momo asks aggressively to them. _

"Don't mind Alisa, we were just thinking of inviting you to a meal so we could get to know each other before the match" _The other one claimed, she has short grey-brown hair and a pair of light brown eyes, compared to other student, she's is more calm and has restraints on her tone while the other was one just being arrogant. _

"Oh, that sounds nice" _Anzu nods her head before she decided to follow them._

"To those who wanted to join us, feel free so, if not then stay at your tanks" _Momo then said to them before she joins Anzu as well. _

"Hey, Eirian. Do you want to check them out?" _Haru pops out his head from his hatch as he asks Eirian as he was outside the tank. _

"No thank you, I have something to do here" _Eirian declined his offer as he was checking the suspension. _

"Such a shame, I already invited the others and they said yes you know"

"It's just not my cup of tea, sorry, Haru… You guys go while I stay here"

"They do have a tea shop established as well" _Natsuki added. _

"Then let's get going then" _Eirian quickly changes his mind as he turned 180 from her statement. _

"Nice going, Natsuki" _Elizabeth pats her on the back as they all went there together, even the cold-hearted Alina. _

"Wow, they have everything here…" _All of them were impressed as everything that established in front of them were sponsored only by Saunders, from a first aid car to even a mobile hair salon, everything was sponsored by Saunders, typical for them since they were very well known for being the richest of all Japanese High schools and sometimes even rivaling or surpasses some universities as well. _

"This is just overkill…" _Alina commented. _

"Overabundance number of establishments?" _Eirian asks to her. _

"A plethora of non-essentials, indeed" _Alina further replied._

"These two are really a killjoy right now…" _Both Haru and Elizabeth rumbled in unison. _

"That's Saunders for you, filthy rich to the point of them now just being a show-off to us" _Anzu explained to both Eirian and Alina as she approaches them while her colleagues followed her. _

"Hey Angie!" _A tone of both playfulness and being a little bit obnoxious that called out the attention of Anzu as she turns around and saw a female student from Saunders was approaching them. _

"Angie? So, you have another nickname other than Angy?" _Eirian then asks to her while she shows him a smug without saying a word back to him. _

"Hey there, Kay!" _Anzu then greeted the young female before Eirian realizes the one Anzu's was talking about which causes him to back out slowly and carefully without catching her attention to him. _

"Eat anything you'd like, okay?" _Kay said to them in return while a smile on her face. _

"Okay. Okay… Kay!"

_Kay immediately laughs it out as she found it funny, and that solidifies Alina's thought that she was both a loud mouth and obnoxious even though she's just friendly and well-intentioned girl. _

"She's strangely irritating, don't you think Idi-"_She then discovers that Eirian was long gone as he attempts to escape for some reason. _

_The others then notice it as well as they saw Eirian shuffling away from them but not Kay as her attention was drawn to Yukari or Sergeant third class, Odd Ball. _

"Hey, Sergeant third class, Odd Ball" _Kay approaches Yukari instead. _

"She found me?!"

"She won't be mad right?" _Saori then asks to her friends as she hides behind Miho._

"Were you okay?"

"Well, after being chased by two of your guards, I luckily survived, somehow…"

"Good, then come and play anytime you'd like, okay?"

"After all, we have the open-door policy so you're free to come to Saunders whatever you like" _She gives her wink and a burst of laughter as well. _

"See you later" _She bids a farewell to her after posing a peace sign to her and to them, leaving Yukari and her friends in confusion. _

"Now, I do hear that there's a certain Hans here, do you know where he is now, Naomi, Alisa?" _Kay then asks her subordinates as she was looking for Hans while totally devoid the student council who was in front of her. _

"You mean the brown-haired Vice-Commander, well he's over there" _Naomi then points Eirian at the distant as Eirian was finally alone and it seems like he escaped from that certain situation as he heaves a sigh of relief. _

"Hopefully I managed to escape them, I really don't want to meet that girl again…" _He mumbled to himself as Kay was already behind him and she heard everything about it. _

"That isn't how you treat your long-time friend about that, Arian" _She quickly startled him as he jumps out of his place of hiding. _

"Kay?! What exactly are you doing here, I thought you were back in America?!" _He then quickly remembered that he saw her at Yukari's recording, easily pointing out that he easily forgets faces that has no value to him. _

"Well, for starters, why are you hiding in the bushes, and second, I'm a long-time student in Saunders, don't you know that?" _She quickly pulled his arm out from the bush before she gives him a pat on the back and a wide smile on him. _

"Good to see you again in one shape, Arian the Black Baron!"

"Wait, you two know each other?" _Anzu then asks in confusion. _

"Yup, I met him back in Germany and that was a long time ago, of course he wouldn't know me now because I different but a gorgeous girl with some impressive feats as well" _She was becoming a little boastful again much to Eirian's irritation as she hanged her arm around his shoulder like she was his "homie". _

"Quit being boastful again Kay, and stop doing this, it's embarrassing!" _He said in return as he escapes from her captivity. _

"Come on, I always do this to you when we almost meet up back in Germany" _She just smiles at him. _

"That was 7 years ago, everything can change!"

"Bummer, I thought you were still the same like before, but that's okay for me" _She giggles. _

"Well it is good to see that you're lively for today's match, impress me again with your techniques again, okay?" _She then leaves the premise with a burst of laughter again while Eirian stands there in deep turmoil and agony from what he could say as "embarrassment"._

"Alright, enough willy-dally for today, we got a match to do!" _Anzu then gathers all of their thoughts during that moment before they went back at their terminus a quo point. _

_After a couple of minutes of preparation and deployment on the field, they finally stationed their tanks at their own respective places. Oarai vs Saunders are about to begin and the only thing they need is to wait their Student Council President and the signal explosion. _

_Meanwhile in multiple observation points outside the battlefield were a picnic from multiple schools, you have St. Glorianas, Kuromorimine Academy, Maginot, J.I.G.A, and both schools of Amaya and Yuichi. _

"This is quite an interesting battle" _Rommel said from his seat as behind him was Agni, Kotori, and another student that looks very intimidating. _

"Don't tell me you're watching this because you wanted to cheer miss Nishizumi here…" _Yuichi then said to his friend, Amaya. _

"Her beauty is already winning, my friend!"

"That's not the point here, Amaya!"

"Why are we even watching this match, Miss Maho? Isn't this just a waste of time?" _Erika then asks to Maho as they watched at the large monitor in front of them. _

"Because Miho is not alone on this one, I believe that there's an agent from J.I.G.A as well who's aiding Oarai's effort"

"You're kidding me, how would a newly revived team with a traitor and possibly a saboteur even gonna do against a major team in _Senshadou_?"

"You'll see that once you know the outcome of this match, Erika…"

"Madame Nishizumi will win this, I guarantee it" _Éclair stated as she sips her coffee while Fondue was beside her. _

"You're rooting for them, Madame Éclair?"

"_Oui_, after all, we promised that we will fight them again, do we not?"

"It seems like they're facing a frightening team at the very start, don't you think so, Miss Darjeeling?" _Pekoe asks. _

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid." _Darjeeling quoted as she sips her Darjeeling tea. _

"Is everything fine on each team?" _Eirian opened his throat mic as he asks everyone of them. _

"Hai!" _That's what he received a few second of silence._

"Alright, as what Miho explained earlier, I'll recap it again, we'll win if we take out their flag-tank out and vice cetera. Our opponents are good at basically everything so we need to fight them cautiously, make use of your mobility and draw them in towards our Hippo's sight so it can take it out" _Eirian gives a short recap before he receives another _"Hai" from them all.

_Eirian then opened his Commander's hatch and saw Anzu in on top of Daimler Dingo in the distance. _

"Let's get this party started, everyone!" _Anzu cheerfully said while she was on top of the moving Daimler Dingo. _

_Soon they went back at the Panzer 38(T), Oarai's Flag-tank, and now all of them wait for the signal explosion. _

_After a moment of dead silence in the air and its surroundings, an explosion from the sky echoes through the arena sized battlefield, the first match of the 63__rd__ Tournament. Oarai vs Saunders is about to begin!_

_As usual Miho being their Commander started their match with her now iconic line. _

"Everyone, _Panzer-vor!_

* * *

**This is a work of a month's worth, sorry about for not uploading this at the second week of this month so expect any inconsistencies at uploading schedule...**

**So I hope you guys like the story, give it a feedback or review so I can hear your thoughts about my story so far and might as well share it your friends and family if you guys ever like the story so far. :V**

**"World building, lore expanding, thanks to all, Panzer-vor!" :) **


	18. Chapter 17

_I just wanted to clarify some things first, firstly I need to correct some terms that I used in the series, first at all the name of **J.I.G.A**, in some instant I called it "**German**" than "**Germania**" but for the sake of story, I'll be naming it "**Germania**". Second is the "**Council**", the Council is short for the "**Unified Panzerkraft Council**" but I changed it into "**International Panzerkraft Federation**" so the term I will be using now is "**Federation**" than "**Council**" (Though the term I'll be using for the Japanese Senshadou Federation is the **JSF**). _

_Third thing I want to clarify is that some equipment that I mentioned here are either shown in the anime/manga or I completely made it, the reason for it is that some equipment are hard to find so I tried my best to make an alternative to it, so take a grain of salt if I'm not showing some accuracy from the original sources, and also the final thing is that the world of Panzer Aber Alternatief is different from the world of Girls Und Panzer, think of it as a parallel universe of it. _

_With that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) _

* * *

Chapter 17: "Against the Green Corps!"

_The sound of the thunderous clap of explosion on the center of the battlefield marked the start of the first match, it was Oarai Academy vs Saunders University High School. _

_The spectators were keenly watching them via the large monitor in a safe location, these monitors were attached on a 12-wheel bogies wagon, probably it was the chassis of the Krupp K5 railway gun. There are 3 total wagons that were deployed on the location as spectators were increasing. _

_Among the crowd of spectators, there were students from different schools and institutions, minor to major, small to large, all-girls to co-ed. This includes the students of J.I.G.A, specifically Rommel and his subordinates. _

_But not only the students of JIGA were watching the fight but there are more schools that Rommel could anticipated of, from last year participants towards the new 15 schools that joined the newly interim 32-bracket tournament. These new schools were granted the permission from the JSF to join the tournament and they are listed below:_

_Yankee High Academy_

_Royal Baron Academy_

_Red Square High_

_Lorriane-Labrys Academy_

_Lazio High School_

_Fennoscandia Institution_

_Wojtek Academy_

_Yin-Yang High_

_Numazu Institution_

_Wallachia Academy_

_Rubrik Academy_

_Illyrian High School_

_Rose Valley Academy_

_K-K Academy_

_Shawarma Academy_

"There's a lot of spectators here than usual, don't you think so, Fuehrer?" _The other subordinate behind Rommel then asks. _

"Absolutely, it is the first match after all, and besides, everyone is particularly interested at this match as well" _He answered. _

"Obviously, he has to surpass that expectations from all of us on this one. So, what will our adored _Black Baron _will do on this one?" _Rommel asks, with a wide smirk appeared on his face. _

"Ahm… Hey Agni, I think Rommel is planning something again…" _Kotori whispers to Agni as the three of them were behind Rommel as they easily saw the wide smirk on his face._

"I actually don't know it either, miss Akane. Hey, Wilhelm, do you think our leader is planning something dubious again?" _Agni then looks at their other subordinate with the same gray uniform as them. _

_Tall, menacing, and one of the Panzer Aces. A valuable member of JIGA's VSG team, Wilhelm._

"Our Fuehrer won't stoop so low against someone like him; besides, the match is clearly a one-sided"

"As usual you still don't like him, do you, Willy?" _Kotori frowns. _

"I hated his entire existence as always, Kotori" _He clarifies. _

"That sums up his relationship with Senpai alright" _She just sighs in response._

"Doesn't matter if you don't like him, but don't doubt our colleague here, Wilhelm. Even though they're at the disadvantage, they still have a Nishizumi on their team" _Rommel said as he looks back at his team with an exuberant look on his face._

"But even though they have both the Baron and Nishizumi, Saunders might have a trick under their sleeves on this particular match, which would be quite interesting to say at least" _He adds._

* * *

_The sound of boisterous engines and riotous melody of the caterpillar threads rolling ahead, causes a lot of disturbance to nature as they traversed through the dense forest. _

_Their battlefield is in an elongated map, populated mainly by trees, with isolated high elevations at some parts of the map. Oarai team made their stop at the middle of the forest, hidden behind the thick green bushes. _

_Their engines quickly fell in silence. _

"What's our orders, Miho?" _Eirian asks as he opened his throat mic. _

"Hai! Rabbit team, I want you to do some recon on our right. Duck team, please take the left side as well" _Miho instructs. _

"Roger that" _Said both the Commanders in unison. _

"Hippo team, Fox team and we, Anglerfish team, will advance while protecting Turtle team"

"Isn't our team's name the _Vulpes?_" _Haru wonders. _

"_Vulpes _is the name given to a species of true foxes, and since the name is scientific, Nishizumi and the others decided to name it _Fox _instead" _Alina gives a brief explanation. _

"Yeah, our leader here is not very good at naming things" _Elizabeth remarks. _

"I can hear you clearly in here, Elizabeth!"

"Alright everyone, please be cautious. Panzer vor!"

_They started their industrial engines and rolled out their metal threads, Rabbit's M3 went to the right side, Duck's 89B went to the left side while the main force went ahead in a convoy pattern, the Panzer IV is in the lead, behind her is the StuG III, between the StuG III and the Panzer III is the flag tank of Oarai, the 38(T). _

"It's too hot in here…" _The radio operator of Rabbit team complains as they were cramped in a tight metal compartment. _

"Hai… b-but this tank is actually good during the early 1940s" _Ana shyly comments. _

"Really?!" _The others quickly lit up with enthusiasm on their eyes. _

"You girls are scaring Ana here, please stop it, she needs some personal space you know" _Azusa Sawa said to them. _

"It's fine, Azusa! I'm willing to open up just a little bit here!" _Ana eagerly said as she's forcing herself to open up her shell for their sake. _

"That's good to hear, Ana" _Azusa chuckles. _

"So, have we found any enemy tanks, Azusa?" _Their radio operator asks._

"Not yet… but stop the tank!"

_The M3 Lee quickly took a stop in the middle of woods, Azusa opened up her commander's hatch and pops out her head with a pair of binoculars on her hand. It was quiet with the only sound emitting was the engine, Azusa did a thorough survey with her binoculars around the densely woods, but there were no enemy tanks in her surroundings, not yet at least. _

_The gunner in the 75mm gun then decided to check its periscope in order to help out her commander, upon checking on a knob hill, a green vehicle with a long antenna and a barrel then pops out from the other side while it was accompanied by two identical tanks as well. _

"Azusa! We spot them!" _The gunner declares. _

"Hai! Hello, this is Rabbit team in B035S, we have spotted three Shermans in front of us" _Azusa announces through their channel. _

"We're going to lure them out now, we will head towards poi-"

_The sudden blast then abrupted Azusa's announcement as they wanted to lure out the three Shermans at the front but the explosion was coming from the rear_ _which causes her to look through the visor-slips behind her and saw 3 approaching Shermans from behind, firing in turns and in a constant pace with the Shermans at the front trying to surround them. _

"We got 6 Shermans surrounding us, they're about to encircle us!" _Azusa reported. _

"Rabbit team, we're sending reinforcement from the south! Please regroup with them immediately" _Miho ordered. Her tank then detached from the main force. _

"Duck team, please follow me! Fox team, take the lead and protect turtle tank with Hippo team!"

"Got it, Miho!" _Eirian responded as he switches location with the StuG III as his tank was now taking the lead in their convoy. _

"Shouldn't we join the reinforcement also?" _Elizabeth asks. _

"No, it's better to stay at this way, after all, we're facing a formidable opponent here" _Eirian explains before he opened up his hatch in order to do a heads-up position. _

"But I can sabotage them here on now on out since I'm second in command…" _He mumbles to himself, planning something despicable. _

"I'll have to put that thought aside for now, I still need to see how Miho performs on this match…" _After a few seconds of reasoning, he dropped out his vile plan in order to see what the match develops into. _

"What's our plans, Commander?"_ Erwin asks. _

"We can't go any further since we don't have the exact location where the other Shermans are, for now we should head back"

"Eh? Are we seriously gonna retreat, Eirian?" _Elizabeth asks as she was in disbelief. _

"They have a 17-pounder, I can't risk our flag tank here in the forest, it would be too risky if we moved forward" _Eirian explained. His tank then takes a U-turn as they went back to their starting location. _

"Shouldn't we be advancing forward?" _Momo asks as she was confused and very eager to join the fray._

"He's right on this one, we can't risk our position here" _Kojiro responded as he firmly holds the shell, ready to reload it if the need arises. _

"You just need to put your trust on him, Momo-chan" _Anzu calmly said as she bites a piece of her snack._

"Don't call me Momo-chan! And also, how are we certain that he's not gonna betray us?" _The conversation and the atmosphere suddenly become heavy, only the sound of the engine and the threads give the dead silence a voice, though Anzu was known for her gleeful attitude in every match and training suddenly felt unease as the thought didn't crossed her mind, until now. _

"You already said that your 'Kouhai' is hiding something, don't you think that this might be one of them?" _Kojiro breaks the eerie silence with a question to Anzu._

"I don't know… But that doesn't matter anymore, this only means that we just need is to put our trusts on him even more than usual!"

"I don't get it"

"It's easy, Kojiro. From the battle against St. Gloriana towards the match against Maginot, Kouhai only showed leadership, comradeship and loyalty to the cause of Oarai's Senshadou, he even taught the juniors a little bit of Panzerkraft 101 to them as well" _Anzu explains as she has faith to her Kouhai._

"You're so persistent at defending him, I guess that's the President for you" _Kojiro sighs in a mix of relief and disbelief. _

"Hai! Since he's my Kouhai after all, I put my trust in him!" _Anzu giggles. _

"Rabbit team, how's your situation?" _Miho asks. _

"Not really good in here, Miss Nishizumi" _Azusa explains while they were being bombard nonstop by Kay and her team from the Lee's rear. _

"P-Please fire your gun, A-Aya!" _Ana modestly shouted._

"Oh yeah, I can turn the turret and shoot this thing, nice thinking, Ana"

_The 37mm turret then turns around and started to fire some shots, but all the shots were a complete miss as it was a mile away from their targets, which Kay's abrasive personality then taunts them playfully. _

"You're not even hitting us at all!" _She exclaimed as she frantically waves her hands in the air._

* * *

_The continued onslaught was being broadcasted clearly and widely to the spectators as they watch in awe from the edge of their seats, even the students of St. Gloriana were keenly watching the fight with Pekoe rooting Oarai's Senshadou team. _

"That's Saunders for you, using their numbers as their main strength" _Pekoe asserted. _

"Did you know this joke, Miss Pekoe?" _Darjeeling began. _

"The American president used to show off quite a bit, he said 'We have everything in our country.' Then the Russian president asked him, 'does that include our hotline to hell?' "

_Pekoe was bemused from the joke._

* * *

_The onslaught was still ongoing, Rabbit team's M3 Lee was being chased by 6 Shermans with a constant succession of fusillade barrage. _

"Keep it up, Karina!" _M3's radio operator gave a boost of moral support to their driver. _

"I'm doing the best of I can you know!"

"Miss Azusa, what's the report of our reinforcement?" _Ana then took her attention towards her commander, her shy and apathetic attitude suddenly disappeared at a moment's notice._

"They're coming, so hold on, just a little bit everyone!"

_From the north of their position, in a few miles away were both the tanks of Anglerfish and Duck team. Their tanks were able to reach the area under a span of minutes, but on their way of joining up with Rabbit team, they were ambushed by a platoon of Shermans from their south. _

"Three of them!? So, we're surrounded!" _Miho exclaims._

"Six from the northeast, and three from south-southwest… This means that they put nine of their ten tanks straight into this forest, _sugoi_…" _Yukari blurted. _

"Miss Akiyama, I don't think it's the right time to be astonished from our opponents here" _Hana empathetically admonish._

"_Gomen nasai_…"

"But that's quite the bold tactic" _Hana remarks. _

"Rabbit team, how's your situation there, can you stop?"

"We can't!"

"Miporin, Rabbit team is taking heavy fire from all six tanks!"

"Understood. Rabbit team, you'll be joining up with Anglerfish and Duck team shortly" _Miho announces. _

"Once we meet up, I want you to head southeast immediately!" _She added. _

"Roger that!"

_Seeing the reinforcement and their senpais, the juniors felt a little relieve as they finally joined up. Together they went the direction of southeast while being chased by 9 enemy tanks that didn't stop the constant bombardment. _

_Ana takes a quick peek at the rear vision slip of the M3 Lee and discovered that there are 7 out of 9 tanks that were chasing them from their rear, she quickly informed this to Azusa but it was too late. _

_Two Shermans with the standard 75mm M3 gun stands strongly at the end of the forest, slowly approaching the retreating tanks of Oarai's. _

"Where did they came from?!" _Azusa bewilderedly asks. _

"Should we fire at them?" _Aya then asks. _

"No. Keep advancing like this!" _Miho ordered. _

"Are we seriously gonna do this?!" _The driver of Rabbit team bewailed in response. _

"Roger that! Footwork like a libero, got it" _The driver of Duck team declared._

_A sense of dread was about to happen, Oarai's retreating tanks are about to head on collision with the two Shermans in front of them._

"Who could have known that Alisa's institution today is spot on!" _Kay asserted._

_The two Shermans then fired a round at close range, but they were unsuccessful as Oarai experienced a near miss and narrowly avoided the head on collision with few inches or even centimetres away, for now Oarai retreated unscathed. _

_They went back to their starting location, away from the enemy as possible. Miho entered her tank and heaves a sigh of relief as the fighting was over for now. _

"That was close" _Hana said to Miho as they can breathe freely now. _

"Yeah… It was almost like they were waiting for us…" _Miho immediately felt leery for a second as she opens up her hatch again, inspecting around and eventually she spots something above the wooden area, it is a wiretapping kite-balloon that is hovering in a fixed location over at the distance. _

_Upon realizing it she quickly informs this to Hana through a whisper. _

"But isn't that against the rule-" _Miho covers her mouth in an instant while she gestured her a shush gesture from her other hand._

"I need to tell this quickly to everyone… but I don't know how…" _She then looks at Saori at her post and saw her phone untouched, this quickly gave Miho an idea._

_Eirian was outside of his tank when he received a message from Miho, he checked it out and discovered the dubious device of Saunders, this caused Eirian to informed the other commanders about it as they waited for Miho to return._

* * *

"Took him long enough to notice it" _Rommel smirks. _

"Is this another work of yours that you are so proud of, Rommel?!" _Kotori reacted furiously as they saw Rommel's suspicious smirk. _

"Relax, Kotori. This isn't against the rules, in fact, I just pointed out a little loophole from the _JSF rules and regulation_"

"What do you mean by that, Fuehrer?" _Wilhelm asks. _

"Devices that is airborne are prohibited in Senshadou matches, this includes balloons, but since this is technically attached to the ground and counts as 'provisional' equipment, they used it. And besides, there's no particular rule that forbids them to use any wiretapping devices" _Rommel explains._

"That's the main reason why our country didn't like Senshadou in the first place, they tried to be unique and they paid the price for being imprudent, should I feel a bit sympathetic to them, no. I don't care if Senshadou is unique or not, the only thing that excites me here is our Black Baron's development"

"And I know you three are supporting him, even though he's technically our enemy now" _Rommel looks back at them with a grin on his face. _

"Is that the reason why you went to Saunders the other day?" _Agni then asks. _

"Not really, after all I was rooting for them from the very start, but Saunders are willing to do everything just to win, probably they _desired _to win on this one too" _Rommel nonchalantly explains. _

"But Nobody wants to see the underdogs lose their first match, do they?"

* * *

_Back at their temporary safe location, Eirian Haiiro and Haru Takehiro were having a friendly conversation while they waited out the others to arrive. Eirian is leaning against the side hull of their Panzer III while Haru hangs freely at the loader's hatch. _

"Have you ever wondered this thought sometimes, Eirian?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's a very controversial one but I think I'll be the first to point this out"

"Alright, I'm listening…"

"Do you think the designer of Oarai's uniform is a closet pervert, because all of the girls here are wearing short skir-"

"We got girls in here, Haru?! Mind your words!" _He berates him in an instant. _

"You do have a point in there, Eirian" _Haru casually nods._

"Listen, those thoughts didn't cross my mind yet, Haru" _Eirian was utterly in disbelief. _

"So, what thoughts _did_ cross your mind then?"

"Care to give me one?"

"Of course, then how about this, why did you decided to join Oarai's Senshadou team?"

"You said to me that you didn't like to be in a Senshadou team anymore, so what gives?"

"The Student Council gave me and Miho an ultimatum, either join the team or get kick out from the School" _He explains. _

"But that's not possible for a Student President to expel a student like that" _Haru then became concerned to him. _

"What did you expect from an imperious girl like her, she probably has some ulterior motive of recruiting me that she even threated me if I don't comply to her accords"

"And besides, Miho was on the brink of crying during that moment, therefore I blurted something foolish at a moment's notice" _He added as he recalled his memories. _

"So, you were willing to save someone even though you don't like it, that's quite stupendous, bravo to you!" _Haru compliments as he gave him a pat on the back afterwards. _

"Yeah, but things like that are prone to happen, I couldn't stop it nor neither do you, even if they gave me a choice to pick, I'm not willing to see anyone being forced into something that they don't like to be a part with it" _He wisely said, not based from his knowledge or skills, but instead it was his experience and past that enlightened him during that specific moment._

"I see… So, what can you say about Senshadou as a whole then?"

"Love it, hate it, everything is still the same, play the game, win big, and do it until you're satisfied at the end of the day" _Eirian's epigram quickly lit up something inside of Haru, it was a sort of sudden spark of enthusiasm, passion, and enjoyment. _

"Well would you look at that, she finally arrives. Alright, I'll be back, see yah" _Eirian gestured him a 'peace-out' sign before he walks away from him._

_Baffled from what Eirian said to him, Haru then instead went towards his tank and decided to check the other team members to spend his spare time. _

_Haru firstly checks Alina from the back of their tank, she was very focused on checking the engine compartment of their Panzer III. _

"Hey, Alina"

"Oh, it's you, Haru. What brings you here?"

"I was just checking if you're doing alright, is everything alright?"

"Hai, it's already fixed so don't you worry about it" _She answered back enthusiastically. _

"I guess the driver knows more in maintenance than just driving" _He chuckles._

"I think almost every driver needs to have an expertise or at least covered the basics of being a mechanic since we considered these tanks as our babies" _She explains. _

"Do they, so are you alright being the mechanic of our team?"

"It's a decent job to say at least, I get to know more about their specifications when I'm checking them, so I guess it's quite fun" _She chortled._

"I see, then I'll check out Natsuki and Elizabeth. Nice chatting with you" _Haru then enters the tank via his loader's hatch. _

_Upon entering the generally-good ergonomics' interior of the Panzer III he found out Natsuki in her gunner's seat, cleaning the periscope with a clean rug on her hand. _

"Greetings, Takehiro. So, how's your conversation with the Commander and the _Tsun-dere _von Pavlov?"_ Natsuki asks as she was curious._

"It was good, I guess… so is there anything I could help you with, miss Kosuke?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I think it's best that you should talk it out to our people's person here about your issue about Senshadou, Takehiro" _Natsuki advises. _

"Wait, how did you know about that, miss Kosuke?"

"Sometimes, a lady's institution is spot on when she knows that someone is troubled" _She reveals a upbeat grin on her face while gesturing him a "thumbs-up". _

"Alright? So, where's Elizabeth then?"

"She's probably helping out the juniors"

"Alright, thanks, miss Kosuke!"

"I hope your issue will be resolve soon, Sir Takehiro"

_Haru then went ahead and looks for Elizabeth, he visited each tank and every tank until the voice of Elizabeth on top of tree catches his attention as soon as Haru was on the brink of giving up. _

"Seems like you were looking for me, don't you, Haru?" _Elizabeth loudly asks as she was on top of a bough._

"What are you doing there?!" _He asks in return as he was surprised that Elizabeth managed to get there in the first place. _

"The view is great here; you should check it out!" _She quickly invites him out. _

_Haru nods in response at her before he decided to climbed up the tree, luckily since he was wearing a military grade pair of boots and the trunk is not slippery, he managed to get up there after a few tries._

"You sure took your time to get here" _She giggled. _

"I'm not an outdoor person, I'm just a clerk and a student from Oarai Academy… You do know I didn't have a schedule to meet death yet you know" _He panted heavily._

"Scaredy cat as usual I see!" _She gives him a slight nudge; her rare or usual abrasive personality was accurate even though they were in a high place. _

"No, I'm not!"

"Okie dokie if you say so"

"Don't you ridicule me!"

"Alright, chillax Haru… But anyhow, I think it's time to be serious again on this one"

_Elizabeth then casually gestured Haru to look over the distance, he averted his eyes from her and saw the greenish field, the vast and unending elevated points of the mountain range, the blue ocean-like sky with the mesmerizing white cotton clouds that roams freely in the air as the warm sunlight warms all of them in the area, it wasn't cold nor hot, it was the perfect combination that would depict what naturality is like._

"Tell me, what's your feelings when you're seeing this landscape?"

"Beautiful and mesmerizing…"

"I know right! And that's how you describe Senshadou, Haru"_ This causes Haru to look back at her as he was confused and curious. _

"Nature can be both beautiful and dangerous at the same time, Senshadou is also like that, it is _the_ nature that humans created for the sake of destruction, but later it turned into something else… something else that is more beautiful and melancholy" _She explains as the relaxing breeze swayed her golden blonde hair into the air._

"How can you say that Senshadou is beautiful even though it's dangerous, Elizabeth?" _He asks timidly. _

"You discovered yourself, made some friendship, comradeship, and the unending experiences and knowledge that surrounds you, Haru. Everything is dangerous in their own right, yet you can still enjoy it, Senshadou is something what you made yourself in it" _She explains._

"But in the end of the day, it's you who decide the meaning of Senshadou, like that phrase they always said, 'always find your way' " _She added before she showed him a smile that is sincere. _

"But I guess you already know that, so when are you gonna tell this to our Commander personally, we already know your secret like a while back now"

"Well, I guess I'll do that soon then" _He was unassured that he has the courage to say that to him._

"You don't need to worry, Eirian will accept you no matter what" _She assures him with a bright smile. _

"How about we should head back now, it seems like their meeting is finally over" _She looks over the distance and saw Eirian walking back to their Panzer III now. _

"We should"

_Both of them eventually meet up with Eirian and soon they received a new order from him as soon they entered their Panzer III; hatches shut tight, engines on, their gun is ready, the shell is loaded to the chamber, and the threads are ready to roll out._

"Operation: Luringly Lure will now commence, everyone. I hope that you're ready for this plan because we're now taking back the initiative here!" _Eirian declared confidently. _

"All tanks, go south on route 0985, and move to the junction there. The enemy should travel north through the junction, so take them out from the sides when they pass through" _Miho ordered. _

_Through the usage of a modified set of the SCR-506 radio, Alisa managed to perceived Miho's command, transmitted from the wiretapping device above the wooden area._

"Their target is the junction" _Alisa smirks wickedly._

"Have a decoy head north up to it, and have the main unit surround them from the sides!" _Alisa ordered. _

"Affirmative! Say, how do you know so much, Alisa?" _Kay asks through her T-17-D hand-held mic, curious as Alisa's intuition was oddly precise._

"Just my intuition, Kay"

"Of course, of course! I knew I could count on you"

_Near point 0985, Eirian's Panzer was on top of a hill that overlooks the junction below it, there, Eirian monitored the area via his binoculars and with a phone in his other hand. _

_3 Sherman tanks on the north side, the main unit is on the right side, and the decoys on the left side, all of them took the bait, as expected for both Miho and Eirian. _

"It's show time" _With a pushed of a button on his phone, Operation: Luringly lure is now commencing. _

_Miho receives the message and orders the group to perform their counterattack. _

"We're surrounded. All tanks retreat!" _She ordered. _

_Meanwhile, Duck team attached a log to their tank and creates a large dust cloud near Eirian's location, this was an act of deception as they lead the majority of Saunders' Tanks away from the junction, part 1 was a success as they convinced all of them. _

"We've been spotted! Spread out and retreat. The 38(T) will hide at point C1024R" _Alisa received from Miho's false command. _

"The 38(T)… That's probably their enemy's flag tank"

"It's time to end this wild-goose-chase now. Charlie, Dog, advance quickly to point C1024R"

"If you see something that is not Saunders, shoot them on sight"

_Two Shermans with the 75mm M3 then went to point C1024R, a plain field with bushes and few slopes. They looked around and found nothing on there, part 2 of their plan is about to reach its climax as they successfully lured two of them into their firing zone. _

_One Sherman decided to look to the bushes and saw the StuG III fully aimed at them. _

"Jesus!"

"Fire!" _Erwin ordered._

_A simultaneous discharge of bombardment was fired from the StuG III, M3 Lee, and the Panzer IV on the Charlie and Dog. _

_3 out of 4 rounds hit their targets, Dog was badly damaged and deemed inoperable as it took hits from the side and front, while Charlie was oddly unscathed from the ambush. _

"Eirian! A Sherman is about to escape at our north-east!"

"Already ahead of you, Miho" _Eirian anticipates as their Tank was already in ambush position, they saw the escaping Sherman and quickly ordered his gunner to fire a round. _

"Distance is 460 meters, our round is the APCR, fire whenever you like it, Natsuki" _Eirian said to her._

"Hai" _She pushed the trigger and a shell discharged from its chamber, the muzzle flash quickly gave their position but that doesn't matter, the shell lunged itself towards the side hull of the Sherman and hits the side of it like butter, with the penetration of around 108 mm in 500 meters, it pierced the side like butter. _

_Dog team is out, Charlie team is down as well. Oarai takes their first blood in this tournament match. _

"Dog and Charlie team is out!"

* * *

**Terms that I used: **

_**Sugoi**_\- Wow

_**Gomen Nasai **_\- I am sorry

_**Kouhai** _\- Junior

**_Senpai _**\- Senior

* * *

**So this is our 3rd match in the series and the 1st one in our Tournament Arc! Soon details from the Anime/Manga will be altered in the future chapters so stay tune! **

**If you guys are interested in the series, feel free to check the small wiki that I created for P.A.A **

wiki/Panzer_Aber_Alternatief_Wiki

**And remember everyone, "World Building, ever-expanding, thanks to all, Panzer Vor!" **


	19. Chapter 18

_I think it is better to put some supplementary lore in here, to the audiences who wanted to know the (expanded) lore of Panzer Aber Alternatief. Since I'm not really good at doing exposition in the story, maybe around 2 chapters I'll try to post a bit of lore here, so deal with it. Though if you guys don't like it, just skip this part. _

_With that further ado, I'll just give you guys a brief insight of the sports within PAA. We start at Senshadou, which is a part of Panzerkraft. Panzerkraft is a term for sports the utilizes a tank as a part of play, example of these are Senshadou (Japan), Panzer-Stil (Germany), Put' Tankov (Russia), and Tankery (For the English speakers). They're many differences between Senshadou to Panzer-Stil, Put' Tankov to Tankery, and vice versa, but I won't explain that here, so, better check those lines for some interesting facts to be discovered. And also, there's more sports than Panzerkraft, some utilizes fighter planes, guns, and even ships. _

_So that's our insights for today, so enjoy the story!_

* * *

_Chapter 18 "The Climax of our first Match! Part 1"_

_The dirty brownish smoke and dust slowly disappeared into the air, with a white flag appeared from behind and the front of the destroyed Shermans. They are now deemed inoperable as Oarai Academy scored their first kill at this match. _

"Two Shermans are out!" _The announcer enthusiastically announced through all the radios and speakers on the field. _

_The crowd awed in response as they looked at the huge monitor in front of them, very surprised and speechless. Moments after, the crowd started to fill up the void of silence as they cheered on to the underdogs of the match._

_Among the crowd in the distance are both the Commanders of Yankee High and Royal Baron._

"Oarai takes their first kill on this match, now that's quite an achievement" _Amaya said with a pleased look on his face._

"Never knew that they managed to lure out two Shermans with that short amount of time…" _Yuichi added, with the look on his face, he was genuinely surprised like the rest of the crowd. _

"Well duh, it's because they have the most glaring, cunning, and beautiful girl that I have ever seen in my life, and that is Nishizumi Miho!" _Amaya responded with a wide smirk on his face, while he gestured a thumbs-up at his friend._

"You're giving me a headache, Sir Amaya…" _He heaved a sigh of disappointment in response to Amaya's answer. _

"But you do know that there's another Commander that took out the other Sherman all by itself, right?" _Yuichi then asked as he stands beside him._

"I know that, do you think that guy we met is the one commanding that Panzer III?"

"I think that's a possibility, but we should postpone our assumptions for now, after all, the match is still at its infancy"

_Back on the match. Oarai successfully claimed their first kill, it was a minor victory, but the smile on Eirian's crewmates was ear to ear as they celebrate their (minor) victory. _

"That was our first kill on this match, sweet!" _Elizabeth proudly claims while doing a fist pump on her seat. _

"Nice shooting there, Miss Natsuki" _Haru congratulates her as he puts another round into the chamber while Natsuki looks back at him and nods her head slowly and surely. _

"That's our first confirmed kill everyone, a job well done" _Eirian congratulates all of them before he opens his hatch in order to get more visibility._

"Pavlov, I want you to regroup with Miho's unit on our east" _Eirian started to command again as he got a clear view on his surrounding, an open field with a spread of knobs, but they are no enemy tanks whatsoever._

"конечно"

_The metallic clang coming from the threads started to chatter the field as they moved their tank towards Miho's unit, with a wrecked Sherman tank on the distance, still emitting smoke as its crew was on the outside, taking a break as they were exhausted after the intense bombardment from earlier. They regrouped with the main unit afterwards with ease. _

"What's our next move, Miho?" _Eirian quickly asked as they parked their tank beside Miho's Panzer IV._

"Hai! First, I just wanted to say that thank you for taking out the retreating tank, they might probably use that time to relay the information about our whereabouts and plan" _She smiled at him as she was thankful that he took care of the situation. _

"And second, we will now do our next phase, Operation: Finding Boko" _She stated as she started to relay their next operation via her phone. _

"You really like naming them after Boko episodes, aye?" _Eirian chuckled while he's in disbelief, shortly after he received a message that contained their next instructions._

"B-but, Bokos are cute and they are lovable characters, it would be a real shame if I didn't use them…"_ Miho censured; her face was all beef red as she defended her favorite series, making Eirian surprised and a bit guilty from what he said. _

"Alright, alright, if you insist so, Miho…" _He started to tease her with a playful grin on his face._

"Ahm, sorry to interrupt your conversation with our Overall-Commander here, Idiot, but we still have a tournament match to win" _Alina caught his attention via their intercom as she was annoyed from hearing their obnoxious 'flirting like conversation' above her seat. _

"Right! Alright Miho, we're gonna get going now"

"Hai! Take care, Eirian!"

_Eirian's Panzer III started to geared up its engine before it moved forward until the tank joined with the rest of the Oarai's tanks in a convoy formation as he took the lead. _

"Do you think this plan would work out, Eirian?" _Haru asked as he was in doubt. _

"Well, we just need to put our trust into Miho, Haru" _At first, he hesitated before he answered back with a promising smirk on his face._

_Somewhere within the depths of the forest, located near an abandoned wooden house, is the flag tank of Saunders. Standing by with Alisa thoroughly scanning the other frequencies on her modified SCR-506 radio as she was wiretapping Oarai's communication network. _

"You think you can fool me once, well, think again…"

"All tanks, gather at high point #128. We can't win as long as they have their Firefly. This might be dangerous, but we should rally at high point and hit the Firefly from high ground" _Alisa discovered an intel as she successfully wiretapped Oarai's network, this caused her to laugh maniacally and obnoxiously._

"How could I be so dumb, of course they're gonna go all out on us!" _She said afterwards to her subordinates after her brief maniacal laugh. _

"And with that, they're gonna be that one gigantic target up there…" _She revealed a sinister grin on her slight wrinkled face before she ordered the main force of her team via their communication network._

"Everyone, head to high point #128"

"That's fast, what's going on there, Alisa?" _Kay asks through her hand mic. _

"It seems like all of Oarai's tanks are going to head there, I suggest we take the initiative and take them all out there" _She explained._

"Well… Hey, Alisa, are you sure about that?" _Kay further asks as she feels dubious about Alisa's order. _

"Say, how did you know that, what's actually going on there, care to give me those juicy details?" _She quickly requested as she was intrigued, with her smirk gave the solid idea that she was definitely interested. _

"Nothing much, but let's say that my girl's intuition and intelligence gathering for today is spot on!" _Alisa responded with a half-lie, technically a wiretapping intelligence gathering was precise and 'spot on', but claiming it as girl's intuition was an absolute lie. _

"Okay! All tanks, Go! Go! ahead!"

_The half-lie that she made quickly fooled their Overall-Commander, this manipulation of hers successfully guided Saunders towards the path of achieving an easy victory, but as cunning as she expected to be, Alisa's gathering was all and just an utter ruse._

_Oarai's tanks start to make their way westward, trying to search the lonely flag-tank of Saunders, while they traverse through the grassy plains, the sight of the forest from earlier soon became visible and apparent to them as it stretches a mile away from their field of vision. _

"The flag-tank is probably here on the map" _Miho speculated as she checked the paper map on top of her lap._

"Since where we're going is in the forest, I think their flag-tank is probably around or near the river" _She explained to her subordinates as she has 3 suspected places for the location of Saunders' flag-tank. _

"I got no visual confirmation as of yet, Nishizumi-Dono"

"Since we're going to the forest, it would be really difficult to find their flag-tank there" _Hana said to Miho. _

"Well, if we had another tank, we could probably send out a decoy…" _After realizing from what she said, Miho finally have an idea and a plan to make their search as efficient as it could. _

_Meanwhile Eirian and his Panzer was casually surfing through the greenish plain of the battlefield, with him resting his back on the interior of his hatch, feeling the lovely breeze on his face as they traverse in the flattened field. _

_He closed his eyes and reminded himself that he was sent there specifically for an undercover mission, but when his phone vibrated in his pocket, he met reality again after he heaved a sigh of disbelief and annoyance. _

_He pulled it out and opened a message the came from Miho, he then checked it out and received new instructions as their new mission now is to search the Flag-tank of Saunders in the forest alongside the Type 89B._

"Alright, let's get things down to business…" _He closed his phone before he started to command his crew again as he went back to his commander's seat._

"Everyone, we got a new mission from Miho"

_Looking through her binoculars, Kay surveys the surrounding field of the plateau, there were only hills and green fields, she was so confused as there were no Oarai tanks on that particular location that she uttered through her mic in response. _

"No one's here!?" _She exclaimed through their communication. _

"What?! That can't be!" _Alisa was surprised. _

"That doesn't make any sense… wait, did they managed to trick us?" _She wondered as she soliloquized._

"If that's the case, then, where are they?" _She started to look around as he felt unease around her surroundings. _

_The atmosphere felt a bit eerie as the course of the comforting breeze changed its rhythm and direction, and soon after, a sound of an industrialized machinery engine with clanking metal threads chatter the peaceful peace. _

_Alisa looks around to her surroundings more keenly, she turns around her back for a second, and immediately in an instant, a Type 89B quickly appears at the front of her Sherman._

_Duck team simply didn't move their tank, instead, both Isobe and Alisa just stared at each other, probably trying to process that Duck team just encountered the flag-tank of Saunders. _

_An awkward stand-off, an awkward stare in a middle of a search, and Isobe was the one who cuts the silence as she knocks the top of her tank, softly._

"Turn to the right, hurry!" _Isobe ordered, causing the tank to turned towards its right as it quickly retreated._

"Don't just stand there, do something and take them down!" _Alisa shouted in response. _

"Alisa, should we make a report about this?" _Alisa's radio operator asks through their intercom. _

"That won't be needed! Just fire! Fire!" _She assured her as their tank started to chase the retreating Type 89. _

"Captain Nishizumi! We spotted the enemy flag-tank at point 0765!" _Isobe reported during the midst of the chase. _

"But the thing is, is that we've been discovered!" _She added while Miho and the others heard the sound of the shell firing from the Sherman at the background. _

"You said point 0765 right, then try running away until you reach point 0615, there we will ambush them" _She ordered upon seeing a good spot within the map, after that, she relayed their next instruction to Saori as they continued on doing a phone-to-phone communication._

"Eirian! We received new orders from Miho" _Elizabeth announced. _

"Really, what is it?"

"We rally all of our tanks toward point 0615, there we will ambush Duck Team's pursuer, the enemy flag-tank of Saunders" _She reported._

"I was really hoping that we discovered the enemy flag-tank," _He mumbles, _"Alright Pavlov, you heard her, march towards point 0615!"

"You don't need to repeat yourself, Captain Loudmouth" _Alina quickly turns the tank as they made their way towards point 0615 as they attempt to regroup with the others._

_Back on the chase, Isobe used her volleyball skills as she served a smoke charge onto the Sherman, blinding it immediately, but Alisa still continued her persistence and she continued to fire their main gun towards Duck team, even though they are blind like a bat._

"Seriously why can't you just fire at them, they're only a Type 89, you know!" _Alisa started to complain. _

"But our field of vision…" _Her fellow subordinate censured softly._

"Then just fire!"

_Another round from the Sherman was fired from its 75mm armament, undoubtedly the shell was a miss from a direct and precise hit but it did strike near the Type 89 somehow, though it was only the shockwave that stirred the Type 89 violently._

"Captain, they still keep sending their tough spikes at us!" _Sasaki, their gunner, said to Isobe as she keeps on providing her some smoke charges._

"Then tell our driver that don't let them get one of their spikes on us"

"Seriously, why are we still using volleyball terms on the middle of combat!" _Shinobu, their driver, overheard them as she expressed her thought in return._

"Keep up the good work, Shinobu! We'll go _reserve_ _L__ibero_ on them!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Captain!"

_Alisa taps her shoe impatiently while out of rhythm, she restlessly waits for her lethargic subordinate to pick up another shell for reload from the bottom of their turret. _

"Hurry the hell up" _She ranted._

"Sorry… but our tank has its shell at the way back there…" _Helmet-chan explains as she tries to reach a shell underneath the Sherman's turret basket. _

"Then use the machine gun!"

"No way, the machine gun isn't that cool enough!" _Their loader refuses. _

"We're in a middle of a goddamn fight, and you only care about what's cool?!"

"Just use the damn gun already!"

_Eventually Alisa's subordinate gave up and used the machine gun, but she was scolded again by Alisa as she said that the gun was a "machine gun" after she noticed that she fired in a burst pattern, eventually she fired the gun again but it is automatically now._

_The Type 89 eventually reaches point 0615, there they saw all of Oarai's tanks as Hippo, Rabbit, Fox, and turtle team position themselves behind the knobs of the inconsistent plain fields in the area. _

"Everyone, go to your attack position" _Miho ordered while her tank was stationed beside the forest, near the path that the Type 89 exited._

"However, I want Rabbit, Fox, and Hippo to protect Turtle" _She further added as she lowered her binoculars before she moved their tank close to the exit. _

"Commander, the smoke screen is finally clearing!" _Alisa's driver announced. _

_Alisa quickly checked on her periscope located below her hatch in response, as the smoke cleared with her field of vision back to normal, she was then greeted by 4 slowly approaching tanks, pointing their guns at her. _

"What?!" _She hastily looks around her surroundings and discovers a Panzer IV at the distance coming from their 9._

"Stop the tank, stop the tank!" _She quickly ordered as Oarai started to bombard them with all of their shots._

_Miraculously their tank withdrew the area unscathed, this causes her to report her situation to Kay, which not only surprised Kay but she also berated Alisa in return from her questionable behavior and situation. _

"Kay… it seems like all of Oarai's tanks are engaging us" _Alisa softly, slowly and gradually reports it as their tank is moving backwards. _

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense, this doesn't match from what you told me earlier" _Kay suddenly felt suspicious and tingly. _

"Alisa, tell me what happened" _Anxiety started to kick in as Alisa anxiously told the truth to Kay. _

"Well, they realize that we were wiretapping their communica-"

"Are you a fool?!"

"I'm sorry…" _Alisa apologizes, full of regret and dishonor as she was genuinely sorry from what she has done to them. _

"Haven't I always told you to fight fair, and not follow that mischievous jerk from the other day?!" _All she can hear in response was Alisa's brink of sobbing. _

"Whatever, just get the heck out of there!" _She instructed._

"And hurry up!"

"Yes, ma'am!" _Upon hiding behind a bush, Alisa's Sherman started to press onward towards westward in order to meet up with the main unit of her team while attempting to dodge and avoid the incoming shells of Oarai tanks as they started to chase her. _

"Damn it, I told her not to believe on his advises…" _Kay mumbled to herself as she looked towards the blue sky. _

"It'd be really unfair for all of us to counter them when we were wiretapping their communication, but I really wanted to help him out as well…" _She soliloquized as she wondered if there's another way for this to work out like she wanted to._

"Alright, I got this genius plan!"

"Everyone, there's six of them. I want only four tanks to follow me, but I want to help out my good ol' friend and his questionable plans, so I want Church to ONLY engage their Panzer III, with Brooklyn and Nine-Nine to back her up acting as reserve" _Kay instructed as that was her 'genius plan' as she wanted to fight fair but also wanting to help out a certain person as well. _

"Alright, that's good for now. Naomi, you're up!"

_And with that, Naomi who was commanding the British/Commonwealth variant of the Sherman, using the powerful Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder anti-tank gun, called the Sherman 17pdr, the Sherman VC or commonly known for its befitting nickname, the Sherman Firefly, takes the lead as they try to rescue Alisa._

* * *

"I never thought things would turn out like this" _Orange Pekoe expresses her thought to Darjeeling as they continue to spectate the ongoing match._

"Almost like a game of hide-and-seek" _Darjeeling chortled while being fascinated and intrigued from the sudden turn of the match._

* * *

"This is a new one. I've never seen a game of tag quite like this!" _Ami Chono declared to Gunther as they sat on top of a modern Type 10 MBT, while behind it is an NBC Reconnaissance vehicle along with a couple of Cyuuritsu guards in identical Swiss-guards uniform. _

"Indeed, I was a bit skeptical that our trainees would even win in the first match, but I think I was wrong" _Gunther says his reaction. _

"We taught them a lot, Gunther"

"You just taught them by vaguely saying to use their gun towards their target and fire its round…"

"These kids need to learn by experiences, not words, Gunther" _Ami asserted._

"Well I guess you're right about that, but I guess it's because of both Nishizumi and Haiiro's efforts that they managed to improve their team" _He expressed his opinion._

"Right! So that's why I have my faith in them that they can win this match, don't you think the same too, Gunther?"

"Definitely" _Gunther titters as he keenly watches the dunkelgrau Panzer III at the large monitor screen._

* * *

"Should have seen that coming, Kay…" _Rommel reveals a mischievous smirk. _

"Is there something wrong, Rommel?" _Kotori asked._

"Kay is forfeiting their dominant doctrine and numerical advantage just for the sake of fighting fair, but on the same time she wanted to defeat Eirian as well, and I think that she's planning something just for him" _He casually explains to them._

"I thought Eirian's existence was unknown outside of Germany?" _Wilhelm asks as he was confused. _

"Not really, on the contrary, everybody outside Germany knows that I have a younger sibling, but they don't know that the young sibling was Eirian Haiiro. The only thing they know is that the given name for Eirian outside Germany is Braun Wittmann" _He answered._

"Braun Wittmann…" _Kotori giggles as she couldn't cover her laugh. _

"Trying to do a subterfuge for my little brother is just plainly mockery, people would find the truth very easily if they wanted to" _Rommel sighs in disbelief._

"But I guess that's what Kay is aiming for" _He added as he heard some peculiar noises at the distant._

_They then caught their attention to a sound of an engine over at the distance, a large black SUV that looks like a Hummer is approaching them in high speed, eventually the vehicle stopped as Rommel approached the SUV. _

_Exiting from its rear passenger door is an adult man in a slick business suit, wearing only his white long sleeved with a red necktie while carrying his black suit that hangs loosely on his right forearm. He has the regular business-man haircut, black hair, and light-red eyes. _

_Rommel gives a bow to him as soon he stands closely to his father. _

"Hello, _Otōsan_. It's wonderful that you've come here"

* * *

**Terms that I used**

конечно - Sure

Libero_ \- _A player specialized in defensive skills in Volleyball

_-Dono_ \- Lord

_Otōsan _\- Father


	20. Chapter 19

"_The Climax of our first match! Part 2"_

"It's good to see that you're fine, Miamoto" _He gives a welcoming smile on Rommel while caressing his coal coated hair as soon Rommel finishes his bow. _

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's Senpai's father, right?" _Kotori curiously whispers to Agni beside her. _

"Of all the people that is close to Eirian, you didn't know about this?" _He asks in response as he's confused. _

"Well it isn't my fault, Senpai is always Senpai you know… He's doesn't reveal much of his information to everyone, even to me, his Kouhai!?" _She explained as she was the same as Agni, but he was doubtful on her, either she's saying the truth or she's too dumbfounded on the situation. _

"If you say so…" _He heaves a sigh as a response. _

"I thought you were having a meeting in Kure, _Otōsan?__" __Miamoto wonders as he tilts his head with a raised eye-brow. _

"We did, but I cancelled it" _His father casually explains. _

"You cancelled a very important meeting?" _Rommel was in disbelief. _

"Yes. Being an advocacy of _Gunkun-dou _doesn't mean I'm always doing business, might as well spare my time to you guys once for a while" _He said as Wilhelm offered him a collapsible stool chair._

"But you're already late…"

"Well, it's not like I was distracted by the Kure Museum that I stumbled earlier…" _He avoided eye-contact to Rommel as he was being suspicious, much to Rommel's disbelief, he was just another avid fan of ships and submarines, pretty much like Yukari but to warships than tanks. _

"But enough with the personal talks, Miamoto. How's our Eirian doing in Oarai?" _Otōsan __suddenly became serious as the topic of the matter quickly changed._

_"Like I anticipated, Oarai made an impact on his behavior and performance, __Otōsan__" __He pointed out as he handed him a bunch of documents inside of a compact folder. _

_Upon he received the folder, he checked out the documents inside of it, there he saw many of Eirian's reports and dialogues between him and Rommel about Miho Nishizumi and Oarai Academy. The documents were around 20-30 pages long, it was a detailed and thorough reports of Oarai and Miho, even to the point that Eirian even described his conversation to the members of Oarai, mainly two persons, and that is Anzu Kadotani, and Miho Nishizumi._

_"As you might see there, Eirian's performance on his mission drastically deteriorates. His reports are starting to sound like journals or diaries, and his main topic would sometimes devoid from his intended mission" __Rommel said. _

_"He got bit by his Senpai because he was teasing her?" __His father found this piece of information questionable as he raised his eye-brow on it._

_"Yes, like I said, devoid from his intended mission…" _

_"But is he enjoying his stay in Oarai?" __He decided to gave the folder back to Rommel as soon he found his desired information._

_"Not really, I already examined the documents thrice now, but I didn't find any accounts of him stating that he 'enjoyed' being a student in Oarai" __Rommel said as he clenched the folder tightly, in result it crumbled the outer shell just a little bit, to the point that upon realizing it he quickly fixed it back._

_"Relax, it's only been 3 months since he started his mission, those who wait will gain good things" __He assured Rommel as he hanged his arm around his shoulder._

_"Remember that time when Eirian did the impossible back in the tournament, no one could predict that he could do it, but he did, because he has potential, so just be patience, knuckle-head" __He added as he gently pats his back before he went back to his seat as the chase finally reaches its climax._

* * *

_The flag tank of Saunders is on the run, with Oarai's team in hot pursuit. The Sherman tries its best to dodge the shells of its pursuers, while their commander, Alisa, is having a breakdown as she sweats excessively and nervously. _

_"This tough Sherman isn't going to go down easily!" __She exclaimed._

_"Fifty thousand of these things were built! Countries couldn't just stop buying them! They were built strong, cheap, reliable, and not to mention that they're really comfortable as well!" __She added as she continued her yapping. _

_"Is she having a breakdown again?" __Their driver asks? _

_"Yes, yes she is…" __Their radio operator casually responded to her, as if they already experienced this scenario a couple of times now._

_"An idiot could even drive this thing, the controls are so simple, and the manual is even written so the idiots can actually read it!" __Alisa claimed. _

_"If I could speak freely here, Commander, your words aren't very reassuring at the moment!" __Her gunner berates while the shells from Oarai keeps ricocheting every time it landed on their tank, reaching to the point that it actually shakes their tank in a constant manner._

* * *

_"Shut up!"_

_"Look at them flee…" __Eirian uttered as he showed a mischievous smirk afterwards on his Commander's seat. _

_"Well, the only sad thing is that we couldn't participate because we're at the rear…" __He said in disbelief as they were situated behind the Panzer IV, the StuG III, and the M3 Lee._

_"Suck it up and deal with it, Idiot…" __Alina blurted out as she maintained their pace. _

_"There goes Alina's __Tsun-dere __side again" __Elizabeth titters. _

_"I am not a __Tsun-dere! __And I don't even know that word in the first place, Elizabeth!" __She rebukes as she feels provoked._

_"No need to hide the truth, miss Alina" __Natsuki giggled, further provoking Alina._

_"Well, that's the charm of our team, don't you think so, Eirian?" __Haru laughs. _

_"You guys are so hopeless…" __Eirian huffed._

_"How in the hell would those run-down tanks driving us off?!" __Alisa asks to her crew as she continue to rattle. _

_"Our school is on a different level than yours! So why are we retreating like Hyenas?!" __She asked next, with a shell reloaded on the chamber, she quickly ordered to shoot, but due to her troubled composure, the shell was a miss in a mile away from their target._

_"What the hell was that?!"_

_"Our shots were no good, Commander!" _

_"No kidding, Sherlock! _

_"Their tanks are small enough that we couldn't even hit them, Commander!" _

_"Stop complaining! Course correction, right, 3 degrees" __Alisa instructed. _

_"And you, Alani! Hurry up with that shell!" __She further instructed to her casque-loader who's wearing the US M1938 tanker's helmet._

_"Honestly, they couldn't even do a squat and they're trying to come after us? That's just stupid!" _

_"Their school's getting shut down anyway so why are they even putting a futile fight on us! So why won't they just shut it down already!" __She continued to fulminate, causing Alani, her loader, to expressed her exasperation from listening to her rants._

* * *

_"Hey, Miho, are you seeing this?" __Eirian asks through Miho's throat mic as they saw Alisa opening her hatch in order to let her frustration out by shouting directly at them. _

_"Hai. It seems like she's letting her frustration out to us" __She explained as she was confused like him. _

_"Seems like it… But she does know that we couldn't hear her, right?"_

_"Seems like she's about to give up, don't you think so, Kojiro?" __Anzu asks to her intelligent friend as he have the glasses._

_"President, don't assume me as that guy with the glasses being the smartest from all of you…" _

_"Of course, I don't, what brings you to that conclusion, Nashi?" _

_"I volunteered to the Student Council as an officer, yet you insisted me to become a Treasurer just because you saw me as a 'smart person with glasses and a suspicious tablet'…" __Kojiro recalled as he heaves a sigh of disbelief. _

_"I don't recall any of that, but certainly it feels right to have you as our crew since your name is Nashi" __Anzu giggled._

_"And besides, all of our names came from different fruits, so that just basically means that we're destined to be a team, right?" __Yuzu then asks to Kojiro as she looks at him while showing him a bright and sincere smile, causing Kojiro to blush in return. _

_"Hai… I apologies to impeding my name to you all" __He adjusted his rectangle black glasses as he composed himself._

_"So, Kojiro Nashi, what can you say about our situation now that their commander is continuously yapping at us?" __Anzu then asks after she took a bite on her favorite snack._

_"Well, it's been already 20 minutes since the start of our pursuit, and the likelihood of Saunders' main force to appear is getting higher and higher" __He explained as he puts his black tablet into action as he started to calculate the probability of an imminent counterattack of their enemy. _

_"So, what's the chances overall?" __Momo further asks._

_"86.13% percent…" _

_"Got it! Momo-chan, tell that to our overall-Commander!" __Anzu ordered. _

_"Right!"_

* * *

_"Miporin! We received something from Turtle team!" _

_"What is it, Saori?"_

_"It seems that the main force of Saunders is about to come at any moment now" __She reported. _

_"Okay. Please tell to everyone that after 60 seconds, we will resume our firing at them" __Miho instructed._

_Miho then saw an opportunity as they saw an inclined slope right next to them, this causes her to order Mako to move their tank towards the slope as a shortcut to get themselves close to their target._

_Her tank leads the convoy, behind her was the StuG III, M3 Lee, Panzer 38(T), Type 89, and the lastly the Panzer III as they traverse the unevenness of the field, moving through the gentle slopes and inclination, and soon they got a clear sight on the Sherman as they secured a spot on top of the one of the slopes. _

_Meanwhile Eirian was taking a breeze outside of his hatch as he rests his back on the side of the hatch, until all of a sudden he heard a disturbance that causes him to look behind his back, an engine of a particular kind in the distance, with the sound different from all of Oarai's tank, he quickly went back to station. _

_"This is Fox team! We have found a tan-"_

_The sound of an intense gunfire disrupted his announcement to everyone, the birds flocked together as they flapped their wings, the ground slightly shook a little as the shockwave of that one shot was heard throughout the convoy, even reaching the lead tank. Everyone was startled, including Eirian as he looked back again and saw the majestic yet dangerous tank of Saunders._

_"That sound! What was that?!" __Haru asks while he was still covering his ears, looking to Eirian as he needs the answer. _

_"That was the 17-pounder, so they have finally brought their most powerful tank to us, don't you think so, Idiot?" _

_"Yeah, no doubt, it's their Firefly…" __He looks over to the distance as he saw the Firefly standing on top of a slope, being accompanied by her fellow Shermans as it looked directly at them with intimidation while its gun was pointed at them. _

_"Distance is over 4500 meters; its effective range is only 3000 meters so we're good for now. But, Elizabeth, quickly inform to Saori that we only have 10-15 minutes before they can reach the Firefly's effective range on us!" _

_"On it!" _

_Eirian then checks it out again in order to see how many tanks did Saunders have and he was in a surprise when he discovers that they only have 4 tanks instead of 7 tanks chasing them. _

_"4 tanks… then where's the other 3?" __He thought to himself as he wondered why Kay decided to cut their numerical advantage on this match._

_He then looks around to his surroundings as he has a weird sensation that he cannot explain. On his left is the uneven terrain, smaller than a hill but taller than a knoll, the terrain on his left was practically useless to Saunders, but on the right side is his most concerning. _

_A densely forest on his right, it was dark, roomy, and filled with an endless number of trees and bushes, the perfect spot for an attempt of flanking maneuvers, this causes Eirian to anticipate something out from the forest as he focused on the Shermans at his back._

* * *

_"What should we do, Miporin?" _

_"Please tell Duck and Rabbit team to take the rear guard with Fox team. Hippo team and us will handle the enemy flag-tank" __She ordered as they experienced the never-ending barrage from Saunders, sandwiching them in the process as they didn't give them any time to breath anymore._

_"They're approaching our rear really fast, Nishizumi-dono! I think they can reach us at any moment with their Firefly!" __Yukari announced as she lowered her binoculars. _

_"We just need a little bit amount of time…" __Miho soliloquized as she starting to feel nervous. _

_"We just need to protect our Senpais no matter what, everyone!" __Azusa declared as all of them are starting to feel nervous now but still tries to remain confident no matter what._

_"Roger that!" __All of her team replied with tenacity and determination._

_"This battle feels similar to the __battle of __Arras__" __Erwin, their leader, remarked as she and her team were surprisingly calm. _

_"No, it's the __battle of__Kōshū-Katsunuma__" __Oryou, their driver, admonished. _

_"It's obviously the __Battle of Tennōji__" __Saemonza, their gunner, then corrected them._

_"That's it!" __All of them reacted, emphasizing that it was the most similar out of the two given battles they mentioned earlier. _

_"We can't lose this match, no matter what!" __Momo insisted as she pulled the trigger, causing the shell to dart itself to the sky than its appointed target._

_"You didn't hit a thing…" __Both Kojiro and Yuzu commented. _

_"Shut up!" _

_"Quite the fierce battle ranging here, how nerve-wrecking…" __Anzu nonchalantly said as she took a bite at her favorite snack while remaining oblivious to their situation._

* * *

_"Oarai's in trouble" __Pekoe conveyed her thought as she uttered. _

_"In a sandwich, the cucumber between the bread is why people eat them" __Darjeeling said._

_"What?" __She tilts her head._

_"Being 'sandwiched' is what brings out the flavor, you see?" __Darjeeling explains._

_"And for this particular match, a __flavorful__ event will about to happen" __She added._

* * *

_"Team, Fire!" __Isobe ordered. _

_"Attack!" __Her team joined as well as they fired their main 57mm gun, it landed but it only ricocheted the front of the Sherman, and in return, they were quickly taking out by the Firefly._

_Their engine compartment then started to burst into flames violently, the controls suddenly broke down as they swayed to the side of the field and into a large rock, causing it to stop the uncontrollable immobilized tank of Duck team._

_"That was Duck team!" __Natsuki points out as she saw the burning Type 89 from her vision slip on her side. _

_"Duck team, anyone hurt over there?!" __Miho asks through their open-channel._

_"We're fine here!" _

_"Sorry, but we're out of commission, Captain Nishizumi!" __Isobe announced. _

_Eirian's members sighed in relief as their fellow subordinates were fine and okay, except Eirian as he felt uneasy all of sudden as he looked back again at the forest on his right. _

_Another shot was fired again by the accurate and deadly Firefly, it soared through the air for a few seconds until it lands the cover of the M3 Lee's engine compartment, the violent and brutal explosion from its rear caught the attention of Eirian as they were just beside them. _

_The M3 Lee then suddenly stopped moving as they crashed into a crater, the white flag then appeared at the front hull as it deemed itself immobilized, while traces of dark smoke and fire was still fuming at their rear. _

_"Rabbit team, are you all alright?!" __Eirian asked, for the first time during this match, as well as his time in Oarai, he felt concerned to them as he immediately contacted them as soon he saw the white flag._

_"Yes, we're all fine here. The one with the long nose took us out…" __Azusa responded, making Eirian all of sudden felt a little bit of solace as they were fine. _

_"That's good to hea-" __He got abrupted by a gunfire from the forest all of a sudden._

_"Pavlov! Accelerate, now!" __Eirian suddenly ordered as his instincts were right, he then opened his hatch and saw a green silhouette in the forest. _

_It was 3 Shermans, 1 of them were trying to engage the Panzer III while the other 2 were at the far back, refraining themselves from doing any engagement to his tank or to the others whatsoever. That 1 Sherman was vigorously trying its best to immobilize the Panzer III, but to no avail as it misses its shots. _

_"So that's what Kay is doing, interesting…" __Eirian then showed a peculiar smirk on his face before he decidedly to went back on his seat._

* * *

_"It seems like Senpai finally have the idea" __Kotori commented as they were engaged at the match. _

_"Do you think that he can actually hold himself from doing __that__ again?" __Agni asked out of concern to his subordinates and to Rommel as well._

_"I can't say, after all, he's the type of person who doesn't like to let his nickname go to waste" __Wilhelm answers._

_"I have faith in Senpai, so he can hold himself for the sake of his mission!" __Kotori expresses her thought as she trusts Eirian. _

_"How about you, Sir Yuzuru, and Fuehrer?" __Agni then asks directly to them. _

_"I still have no idea if he's gonna refrain himself from doing it, nonetheless we have to see this for ourselves, don't you think so, __Otōsan__?"_

_"If what your documents are saying the truth, then we can assume that __that thing __will show up again…" __His father, Yuzuru, was not feeling optimistic as his hands were clenched together in a raised position that supported his chin, signaling that he is fearing something that might get unfold later. _

_Everyone is starting the felt the uneasiness of their situation, all of them suddenly became quiet, their eyes started to shed, their feelings suddenly became heavy, and their resolve is deteriorating, it was only a matter of when, not if._

_"Look at yourselves! You're like ants! With a platoon on the right side, while Commander's forces are at the back, and Naomi's Firefly is on the left side, we have basically surrounded you, Oarai Academy!" __Alisa being boastful as she brags about it._

_"Now we will gonna finish all of you!" __She declared._

* * *

_"This is like Benkei's last stand!" __Saemonza commented as their tank then goes behind the Panzer 38(T)._

_"This is our end,_ _Es war ein guter Kampf__" __Erwin added._

_"A tank filled with holes. A tank filled with holes, for that is wat we shall be" __Oryou cited her own haiku._

_"This isn't the time to say a parting haiku!" __Caesar rebukes as she wasn't having it. _

_"This… is this over?" __Momo was in tears as she was now having a breakdown as she moves away from her periscope._

_"It's fun while it lasted" __Kojiro uttered as he adjusted his glasses again, putting down his tablet as it was over for them._

_Yuzu then takes a glimpse on their commander, Anzu was feeling a bit uneasy as well, it was unusual since they haven't seen that expression of hers once in a while now._

_"Miss Prez, do you think that we can turn this around?"_

_Eirian's team were starting to feel down as well, the atmosphere became dread and all of them weren't uttering a single word to ease the consternation. But for Eirian, he simply couldn't hide this feeling that he longed for, this ultimately causes him to grin unexpectedly, just a little bit that it's visible that a naked eye could see it._

_Eirian suddenly realizes it and he quickly composures himself, letting out a heavy breather as he pinned his throat mic in order to talk with everyone, ending the silence once and for all._

_"This is Eirian, and I'm not really good with words such as these… But I know that every one of you are feeling a bit down due to our situation here, so, I will say this once and that is, GET BACK TO YOUR SENSES, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" __This surprises everyone, even Miho and Anzu. _

_"We're in a difficult situation here, so quits with the yapping, I can clearly hear your pointless chatters which annoys me very much, so sulk it up because we will fight until the very end here!" __He said to the channel, which causes a spark of hope to burn wildly in an instant as Miho helped as well. _

_"He's right, everyone! Stay calm and continue your attack. The enemy is firing while moving as well, the chance of them hitting us is low, so, focus on hitting their flag-tank!"_

_"We need to seize this chance!"_

_"We can win if we can hit them!" _

_"Like Eirian said, we will fight until the very end!" _

_"Fufu, feels like we're fighting in Arnhem on this one" __Erwin smirked. _

_"That's Kouhai alright, even surprising his Senpai, he definitely needs a reward after this" __Anzu smiled._

_"We can't do this, Yuzu!" __Momo ranted._

_"It will be fine, just asks our treasurer here, what's our chances, Sir Nashi?" _

_"Well… it's about 16%..." _

_"See?!" _

_"Don't worry, that is almost a quarter of 100, Momo-chan"_

* * *

_"Alright, is seems like this thing is sorted now…" __Eirian mumbled._

_"Who could've known that you encouraged all of us to fight until the very end on this match, is that even you, Eirian?!" __Elizabeth shed a tear out of happiness. _

_"You impressed me, Commander Idiot…" __Alina complimented. _

_"I was very surprised that you managed to pull something very out-of-character of you, Commander" __Natsuki smiled. _

_"I knew it that you're a people's person as well, Eirian!" __Haru gave him a pat on the back as he was happy for him. _

_"There's no point in complimenting if we just gonna lose this match, so, as your Commander, we will take back our initiative in our own way" __He smirked as he started to feel excited once again, his blood started to boil in adrenaline as he decided to take things on his own hands again._

_"Alright, our Eirian is now motivated!" _

_"Just give me the order to shoot, Commander" _

_"Whatever you do, we will support you no matter what!"_

_"Don't get too cocky to yourself, remember that we can't do anything unless that Sherman of theirs are taking out, Командир" _

_This causes Eirian to open his hatch and looks directly at the forest on his right, where that 1 Sherman was still shooting at his tank consistently yet fails miserably, there, he notices that the other two Shermans weren't doing anything other than just keep moving through the densely forest, this causes him to develop a plan, it is quite reckless yet might change the state of their situation if he pulls it out successfully. _

_"Alright, I got a plan!" __He said confidently. _

_"Miho, this is Eirian. Permission to take the enemy from our left to deviate their attempt from pinning us?" __Eirian pushes his throat mic as he asks for permission._

_"What? Isn't it a bit too risky for you to do something like that, Eirian?" _

_"I know, but this is better than nothing, and besides, I think you already have a plan in mind with that slope leading to the hill on your right" __He replied as he anticipated. _

_"How did you know that?" _

_"Your… unique way of planning concluded me to think that you're gonna do something unorthodox on this match as well, Miho" __He explained._

_"Seems like you know me too well, Eirian" __He could hear her giggle on the other side of the channel. _

_"So, do I have the permission, Commander Nishizumi Miho?" _

_"Hai! I wish you the best of luck, Haiiro Eirian!"_

_"Hai! You too as well, Miho" _

_"They gave us the signal, everyone!" _

_"So, what's the plan, Commander?" _

_"We will show them our resolve on this match" __He declared as he showed a wide grin on his face to them._

* * *

_"Alright everyone, it seems like Eirian is taking half of their attention to him, this opportunity might give us enough time to win this match" __Miho said to her team._

_"That's the __Black Baron__ for you!" __Yukari enthusiastically declared to them. _

_"What is it with Eirian and this Black Baron you're speaking of, Yukari?" __Saori asked out of curiosity._

_"Well, Haiiro-dono is a __Panzer-Ace__ from Germany, normally being a Panzer-Ace means you're a very talented Commander, but having a nickname means that you are very an exceptional and talented Commander, think of it as being a celebrity in the __Panzerkraft industry__" __Yukari quickly explained as she was having a Panzer-High all of a sudden. _

_"If Haiiro-dono is called the __Black Baron__, then Nishizumi-dono is called the __Knispel of Kuromorimine__, and that guy we met after the match against St. Gloariana is nicknamed __Rommel__, which it is the older brother of Haiiro-dono" __She added as she listed out the Panzer-Aces that have a nickname. _

_"This is my first time hearing that Eirian has a nickname, did this nickname came from the Naming Committee itself, Yukari?"_

_"Hai! I'm 100% sure that his nickname was on the list, I memorized everything!" _

_"So, what does this __Black Baron__ has to do with mister Haiiro's plan, miss Akiyama?" __Hana asks as she was curious and intrigue. _

_"I think we will see that soon, miss Hana" __Yukari foreshadowed._

* * *

_As Eirian saw the Panzer IV going up to the slope of the hill on their right, trying to take control on top it, he quickly pushed the button of his throat mic again, and this time, he said something to both the commanders of Hippo and Turtle team personally. _

_"Erwin, Anzu, I have faith in you two. So, while we're fixing this situation just keep moving forward and don't stop the tank, got it?"_

_"__Jawohl!__" _

_"Got it, Kouhai!"_

_"Alright, what's this plan of yours that you highly felt high and mighty so much, Captain Idiot?" __Alina asks as they weren't giving any context of his plan since the very beginning that he mentioned the word 'plan'._

_"Just trust me on this one"_

* * *

_"Oh, so they're doing the usual 'death from above' tactic, how bold of them" __Kay stated. _

_"Alright, Naomi, that Panzer IV is all yours" __Kay added, giving Naomi the signal to take down the Panzer IV by her Firefly, which she called it Myosotis or forget-me-nots or the badass name of scorpion grasses, nonetheless, it was now her personal duty to take down the Panzer IV._

_"And oh, what's this?" __Kay then saw the Panzer III detaching from the convoy as it went its way to confront the Sherman on its left. _

_"Seems like he took the bait, quite the unusual of you, Arian…" __She mumbled before she decided to use her radio again. _

_"Alright, Tex-y, it's your turn now, sandwich that Panzer III of theirs with Church" _

_"Got it, ma'am!" __Another Sherman was again detached from the main force, leaving the main force of 2 tanks remaining as they continued to chase the remaining tanks of Oarai._

* * *

_The firefly then swiftly went to the hill, making a stop halfway as it attempted to fire a round towards the rear of the Panzer IV, which unbeknownst to them that they were on the effective range of the Firefly._

_ It was until the sound of the sudden stop of its track of the Firefly that Miho got alerted as she heard the peculiar sound of something that she previously known._

_Its long nose then aimed towards the Panzer IV and a moments later, she fired the round. The loud and bright muzzle flash shattered the sound of nature as it fired its mighty 17-pdr gun directly at the Panzer IV. _

_"Harsh stop, now!" __Miho commanded out of reflex as she heard that deafening gunfire. _

_ Her tank tested its break and suspension, it made a rough and vigored stop as it violently skidded to the ground in a curved pattern. The shell from the Firefly then landed nearby, its shockwave then quivered her tank, but on the bright side her tank was unscathed miraculously as it quickly went to the crest of the hill. _

_"We've got until the Firefly loads and fires next" __Miho declares to everyone, specifically to Hana. _

_"Got it!" _

_Her tank then finally arrives at the scene of the crime, she stood at crest of the hill, she covers the overview of the land below her, a relative degree of a flat green plain with a Sherman tank running away from its pursuers. _

_All they need to wait is the precision shot of Hana Isuzu, for now they stand there at the top, motionless and quiet._

* * *

_Meanwhile Eirian's Panzer III then started to rush the Sherman tank who's giving him a headache since earlier, it keeps on firing at him as he closes the gap between them. _

_A shell was fired from that Sherman but it was a miss, Eirian was keenly interested at one aspect of that particular Sherman as he was engaged and concentrated on it, unaware to the fact that there was another Sherman that wanted to do a flank maneuver behind his tank, or so it seems. _

_"1-2-3-4-5-6-7" __Eirian started counting, he noticed a pattern and quickly he discovered two things, one is that he found out the seconds of reload of the Sherman at his front, and second, is that he noticed the other Sherman tank from his back, which he discovered it after he heard the sound of its engine emitting loudly._

_After 7 seconds it fired a round, coincidentally the Sherman from the back also fired at the Panzer III, one of them was a miss and the other one deflects. After this sudden realization from the Commander of the Church personally, she ordered her team to a complete stop, making them motionless but this stabilizes their aim at the Eirian. _

_Both the Shermans fired another shell with an interval of few milliseconds apart, luckily the Panzer III zig-zag its way out of the crossfire, giving its time to fire back at them as he was around 270-250 meters away from them. _

_"1-2-3-4-5- Pavlov! Hard stop, now!" __He ordered. _

_Alina steps on the break pedal of the tank, this causes the tank to do an unexpected stop, pulling out a clutch in this match as the Panzer III dodges a close-shot from the Sherman at front while the Sherman from behind was a miss as well as they weren't expecting it. _

_"Fire!" _

_Natsuki pulled the trigger, letting out a violent and bright burst of a flash from its muzzle, with a shell ejected from its barrel, it went straight directly at the front hull of the Sherman, immobilizing it quickly as dark and foggy smoke started to emit from its front, moments later a white flag then pops out from its front hull. _

_"Nice one but we aren't finish yet!" __Eirian stated as his attention was now on the Sherman at their back, his tank then turns around the immobilized Sherman and then charges confidently to the superior tank. _

_"Being cocky aren't you, well we aren't gonna fall for that same trick again, stop the tank and aim the sights 3 degrees to right, close but not too close to the approaching Panzer III!" __Their Sherman then halted, she aimed their sight at front of the Panzer III, anticipating that they will do the same trick again. _

_"They already know it, they saw it, so we're not stopping this time. Pavlov, full throttle after I counted to 6. Haru, load the APCR shell. And Natsuki, aimed the turret on our left, 4 degrees after I said the signal, but don't fire the shell until I gave you the word" _

_"Got it!" _

_Haru injected the PzGr. 40 shell into the gun chamber, with a sound of the metal breech that he heard, the loading was now complete as he announced it to Eirian. Natsuki then prepared herself as she holds the turning mechanism with her left hand, while her right hand was on the trigger._

_"1-2-3-4-5-6 now!" _

_"Round it up!"_

_Alina then puts the pedal to the metal as she strenuously stepped on the accelerator. The tank then moves furiously towards its target while the shell from the Sherman was fired again as it tried to anticipate the sudden stop of the Panzer III from earlier but they were too late, they missed their shot and now they will face the consequences of it. _

_The Panzer III then turned its turret to the left, it was now closing the gap as it's about to reach the side of the target, Natsuki only waits for her Commander to give the order as she holds the trigger nonchalantly. _

_"Hana, make it happen" _

_"Natsuki, fire it away"_

_Their sights were aimed, both of them were focused, and they pulled the trigger in sync. Three rounds, two of them by Oarai while one of them came from the Firefly were fired during that single moment, and all of them reached their target with frightening precision and accuracy._

_The Panzer III hits the turret ring of the Sherman, knocking it out in an instant, the Firefly's shell then lands at the rear end of the Panzer IV, quickly immobilizing it, and finally the Panzer IV takes out the Flag-tank of Saunders over to the distance, securing a (clutch) victory for Oarai Academy of the first match. _

_"Oarai Academy takes the match!" __The announcer proudly said throughout every radio channel in the area. _

_The audiences started to applause and cheer wildly, enthusiastically, and excitedly as for the first time ever, the underdogs finally won the match. _

_Yuzuru smirked, Kotori cheered, Agni smiled, Wilhelm chuckled, while Rommel sniggered as they looked at the flag of Oarai Academy that appeared on the monitor with the word of "victory" underneath it._

_Miho sighs of relief while Eirian heaves a sigh of disbelief, they have finally won the first match of tournament. _

_"That was impressive, you did your best out there, Natsuki" __Alina smiles. _

_"That was great, Natsuki!" __Elizabeth then all of a sudden hugs Natsuki at her seat. _

_"Nice going, Miss Natsuki!" __Haru applauses as he congratulates her. _

_"You did great there, nice job, Natsuki" __Eirian smirks at he presents her a pat on the head. _

_"T-thank you everyone, but it was the Commander's doing that we achieved victory" _

_"Oh, yeah… Nice going, Eirian!" __Elizabeth then attempts to give Eirian a big hug but he wasn't having it as he holds her off with his two hands. _

_"I told you, I don't allow hugs, Elizabeth!" __He uttered desperately as he tries to hold her off. _

_Their Panzer III then meets up with Miho's Panzer IV at the crest of the hill as it seemed that everyone of them regrouped there. _

_"Hey, Miho!" __Eirian frantically waved his hand in the air as he tries to caught the attention of Miho. _

_"Eirian?!" _

_"It seems like you took out their flag-tank, nice going" __He said to her directly as he offers her a handshake while showing off a genuine smile at her. _

_"Hai! But you also helped us out earlier, so this win is for all of us!" __She smiles back at him as she accepts the handshake. _

_"You're right about that"_

* * *

_Moments later all of the Commanders of each side got their last chance to meet up at the front of the audiences, they lined up in a straight row, in total their were 16 commanders, 10 at Saunders, 6 at Oarai as they stand at opposite sides of the field, with the referee in between these two row. _

_"Senshadou starts a bow, and ends a bow. Everyone, All bow!" _

_"Thank you!"_

_The crowd of audience from their side started to applause and cheer on the winners of the first match, all of the commanders and members of Oarai Senshadou were surprised that they received such a woo and applause from the audiences. _

_"That was quite the match, so what did we learn here?" __Rommel looks to his subordinates as he was displeased. _

_His subordinates didn't utter a word of respond as they knew that Rommel was not pleased with Eirian's performance as he messed up. _

_"It was quite a shame really, but that's how he normally acts in matches…" __Rommel stated before he heaved a sigh of disbelief. _

_"What do you think, __Otōsan__?"_

_"You could say that his nickname being the __Ruthless Ace __is befitting than his official __Black Baron__, doesn't he?" _

_"Well, you're right about that, __Otōsan…__" __He stood up._

_"Alright, there's no point in sitting now, I have a certain person to meet, then till I'll see you next time, __Otōsan__. You three should go ahead as well, I'll catch up later" __He added to them before he walks away._

_Meanwhile Darjeeling and Orange Pekoe departs from the scene as they were satisfied from the match, this was followed suit by both Amaya and Yuichi as they were impressed by their performance, and after a while all of the 16 new schools departed as well from the scene as they went back to their respective places and carriers. _

* * *

_"Hey, Arian! That's was quite an awesome match back there" __Kay then catches the attention of Eirian as he was talking to his fellow crewmate. _

_"Hey, Kay. That was quite the intense match" __Eirian said in return as he finally talks to her directly. _

_"Yup it was EXCITING, and I missed you so much!" __Kay quickly gave Eirian a hug as it was been ages since they haven't seen it each other. _

_His teammates were in utter shocked, as well as few members of Oarai Senshadou team at the scene, this includes the Student Council President and the Overall-Commander, as well as Haru and Elizabeth. _

_"How did she get a hug?!" __Elizabeth ranted. _

_"It was 7 years since we last met, you probably didn't know me now but I should remind you that I'm the same as always" __She chortled as she lets go from hugging him, in return Eirian was motionless as he tries to process what just happened for a mere of seconds._

_"Ahh…." __Eirian couldn't speak properly as he was still processing it. _

_"That's alright, I know that you can do better in the future, and can I ask a thing from you?" _

_"Alright, what is it?" _

_"Is there any particular girl that you like?" _

_"What?!" __His face started to turn red._

_"Just joking!" __She's laughing obnoxiously and obliviously. _

_"But seriously, you got your eyes in someone here, don't you?" __She then came close to his ears as he whispered it to him, while looking to Miho Nishizumi that stood far away from them. _

_"And also, I see what you did there… and I'm gonna say that you should try your best not to expose yourself on the next match, okay?" __She added._

_"Anyhow I'll be going now, see yah next time and good luck, Arian!" __She then pulls away from him with a big smile on her face, she waves her hand as she bids a farewell to her friend. _

_"Alright, I need an explanation, now!" __Elizabeth demanded as she was furious. _

_"How did you managed to woe over that so easily, care to give me some details about it, Eirian?" __Kojiro asked as he was intrigued. _

_"He's quite the very popular now, how cool is that!" __Haru just chuckled. _

_"I feel sympathy for our Commander now…" __Natsuki felt sympathetic for him. _

_"Don't be, you'll only motivated his Idiocy" __Alina rebuked. _

_Among the crowd is Haru's sister, she was smiling as she was happy that Haru was not feeling lonely anymore, moments after that she departs from the scene as she got a grocery to managed, meanwhile a young girl wearing a tan colored uniform then watches Eirian and Alina from the distance as she uttered something to herself. _

_"I have to say report this back to __Premier__…" __She then walks away as she quickly disappeared through the crowd. _

_"Well, seems like you're having a cozy time with your friends here, Eirian?"_

_"__Otōsan?!__"_

* * *

**Terms that I used**

_Es war ein guter Kampf - __It was a good fight_

_Командир - Commander_

_Otōsan - Father_

* * *

_Just wanted to say that this day (Sept 5) is the 1st year anniversary of the publication of Panzer aber Alternatief/Tank but Alternative series! Just wanted to say that thank you everyone for supporting the story till now, I will try my best and give you the uttermost best of my capacity to make these chapters :) _

_Panzer vor means Panzer vor! Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart. _


	21. Chapter 20

_Minasan, kon'nichiwa! _

_Today is another session of supplementary lore with the Author. Our topic on hand is an in-depth look of the sport of Panzerkraft. __**Panzerkraft**__ is the main general term that describes a sport that involves tanks as a means of play. Now Panzerkraft has different branches, each with its unique styles, for example, __**Senshadou**__ Japan primary focuses on the feminine aspect and its single gender participation, meanwhile __**Panzer-stil**__ Germany is a co-ed sport. In Russia and its commonwealth, their sport, __**Put' Tankov**__, are known for their large battles, typically around 40 v 40-ish of game match. _

_Well, that's enough lore for today. Enjoy the story!_

* * *

_Chapter 20_

"_Well, seems like you're having a cozy time with your friends here, Eirian?" __Eirian's attention is quickly drawn by the voice of someone. _

_Standing over at the distance is a young man in a business attire, except with the black jacket as he hangs it around his forearm. _

_"__Otōsan?!__" __Eirian is surprise to see his father as his father approaches the surprised son. _

_"Wait… Is that your __Otōsan__, Eirian?" __Elizabeth curiously asks as she is confused._

_"You never told us anything about your parents, why is it, Eirian?" __Haru adds in a form of a question. _

_"Better explain yourself, Commander." __Natsuki demands. _

_"It's time for confession, Idiot." __Alisa says as she folds her arm._

_"Wow. In your 4 months in Oarai, you surely kept your life to yourself, son…" __Eirian's father says as he is surprised. _

_"Exactly what brings you here, Father?" __Eirian asks, avoiding the question from his father._

_"I came because I'm here to cheer you, obviously being a Father doesn't always mean I'm stuck behind meetings and conferences. As a Father, it's my duty to watch the growth of my children, such as yourself." __He explains as he goes with the flow._

_"Yeah… Hold on a second," __Eirian gestures him to hold on for a second while he tries to use his smartphone as he searches something. _

_"Yup. It seems like there's an exhibition match of the Blue Mermaids vs Kaidai's Gunkun-team in Sasebo, next day." __Eirian then looks at his father as he knows that his father has another motive than watching his match in Nagasaki._

_"Of course not! Did you assume that I'm only a __Gunkun-dou __fanatic?" _

_"Pretty much, yes." __He shrugs._

_"Come on, we already know that the Blue Mermaids can easily win that match by tomorrow…" __His father calmly says, confirming that he is a Gunkun-dou fanatic._

_"Ahm… Hey, Eirian. Don't you wanna introduce us to your __Otōsan__?" __Haru asks, this catches the attention of his father as he coughs in order to catch their attention to him. _

_"Oh yeah I forgot. Apologies for I haven't introduced myself to all of you yet. My name is Yuzuru, I'm Eirian's Father." __He bows his head to them. _

_"So, Son. Who are these __Kamaradens __of yours?" _

_"Oh yeah. This guy on my right is my Right-hand man. His name is Takehiro Haru," __Eirian gestures Haru beside him. _

_"The Blondie on my left is the obnoxious, people's person, Kousaka Elizabeth." _

_"Next to her is the tiny, short-tempered, white-haired Yeti. Alina von Pavlov." _

_"I heard that, you Idiot!" _

_"And the final one is the most ordinary girl out of the team, her name is Kosuke Natsuki." _

_"I see… Then I want to thank you all for handling my son." __Yuzuru bows his head again as a sign of appreciation for their efforts of befriending Eirian. _

_"Oh no need, Yuzuru-san. We did what we could to help this spoilsport son of yours." __Elizabeth modestly responses as she tries to be unpretentious in front of him. _

_"She's right, Yuzuru-san. Eirian is in good hands." __Natsuki assures him. _

_"Thank god, that's good to hear." __He heaves a sigh of relief, while Eirian folds his arm as he is after all, not giving a damn for them. _

_"I want to congrats you to your first match, son. I'm very sure that your mother would be really proud of you, sadly I couldn't bring her here since she's busy back in Berlin…" __Yuzuru explains after he heaved a sigh of disbelief._

_"It's fine, Father." _

_"You know, you haven't contacted your Mother yet ever since you enrolled to Oarai, Son." __Yuzuru reminds his Son as he offers him his phone to Eirian._

_"I'll contact her when I have the chance, Father." __He assures him with a fake smile._

_"I know that, but it's too late, I contacted her already." __He then throws his phone into the air, causing Eirian to catch it both his hand as the phone is now dialing their Mother. _

_Eirian hears a series of beep until the signal is finally pick up by her Mother as he hears her voice. _

_"Hellooo!" __The voice of a seemingly charming and soft-hearted woman catches the attention of Eirian as he puts the phone beside his ear. _

_Eirian didn't response to her Mother as he hesitated to reply back. He just stares at his Father whose doing all these convoluted gestures to him as he tries to persuade him. _

_Eirian then looks at his teammates as they were also supporting him, expect Alina as she looks away while her arms were folded, not giving a crap to him and his social life whatsoever._

_Eirian just heaves a sigh of disbelief before he finally replies to his Mother's chatters. _

_"Hey, Mom."_

* * *

_Meanwhile, Kay, Naomi, and Alisa went back to their tanks as it is now the time for them to depart from the place. _

_"First thing we should talk about is Alisa's courses of action in this match." __Kay says as she leads the group, meanwhile Naomi gives Alisa a pat on the back as she was feeling guilty. _

_"I'm sorry..." __Alisa's whimpers. _

_"That reminds me, Kay. That Vice-Commander of theirs, isn't that the guy you're were referring at that we should pay our attentions of?" __Naomi asks as she recalls it._

_"Oh, the one that we met earlier, yup! He's the one we should keep our guards up, after all, don't let the front page deceives you, Naomi." __She advices them with the same lively smile on her face. _

_"He doesn't seem to be a dangerous person to me, Kay."_

_"Well, because you haven't seen what he done to both Tex and Church during the match." __She then looks at her as she drops her smile. _

_"Wait..."_

_"Exactly, the battle-hardened crew of Tex and the Veterans of Church got knocked out by Arian's Panzer III." __She says to Naomi as Naomi didn't know about that particular duel during the match as she was heavily invested in taking out the Panzer IV._

_"You didn't know it because you turned off the radio in order for you to concentrate, am I right?" _

_"I don't blame you, Naomi-chan. I too was surprised that he took them down in a span of few minutes, but what could we do to a person that is called the 'Ruthless Ace'." _

_"Ruthless Ace?" __Alisa then asks as it was the first time, she heard the nickname__. _

_Before Kay could answer Alisa's question, they were greeted by Rommel who is patiently waiting for them near Kay's stationed tank. _

_Kay just looks at Rommel intensely before she turns her attention to both Alisa and Naomi with a lively smile fixated on her face. _

_"You girls go ahead, I have someone to chat right now." _

_Both Naomi and Alisa nod at their Commander as the both of them decides to went to their own tanks, leaving Kay alone with Rommel who is smirking as he leans his back against the side hull of a Sherman tank. _

_"How was the time with Eirian, Kay? Did he surprise you whatsoever?" __He asks while showing a smirk with his hands in each of his pants' pocket._

_"Of course, I am, he did change a lot, but it feels very different... Is this what you told me the other day?" _

_"Yup. His personality is a bit lively and more practical, that's his third personality. Which to be fair, it's quite hard to distinguish it by his second." __He explains. _

_"Well, at the very least he's more sociable now compared the last time I met him."_

_"Indeed. But tell me, Green Pool, why didn't you prioritize Eirian in this match?" __Rommel asks as he walks straight to Kay, confronting her with a smile that demands answers from her. _

_"Or to be precise, why didn't you go all out on him?" _

_"Alright, Miamoto. Sorry to spoil the beans but I'm not the Green Pool anymore, and besides, what we're doing isn't war, it's sportsmanship." __Kay explains as she lightly pushes Rommel away from her face. _

_"But you do know that we aren't facing a normal person, right?" __Rommel raises his eyebrow with his hand behind his back as he walks back and forth in front of her. _

_"Known by many names, the 'Black Baron', the 'Nameless Ace', and finally, the 'Ruthless Ace'." __Rommel adds. _

_"These names created the persona of Eirian Braun Wittmann-Haiiro, the puppet and the catalyst for the Leopold's wishes." __Rommel stops on his tracks as he then looks at Kay._

_"But I know why you did that, and I didn't expect for the Green Pool to pull that off, how impressive." __He shows a grin as it only annoys Kay. _

_"I did what I have to do, Miamoto. Are you happy that the others already know his identity?" __Kay asks as she is beside Rommel as she tries to go back to her tank._

_"Well, he fell for your trap, so I'm very happy with it, but I am displeased that you didn't act this problem very accordingly and efficiently, Green Pool." __Rommel replies as he became serious all of a sudden, his tone became a bit stern as he whispers back at her. _

_"Tanks will be very sad if you don't follow their feelings, Rommel." __Kay just shakes her head as she pats him on his back before she went to her tank and enters it from the commander's hatch._

_"Of cour- Wait, what does that mean?!" _

_"It means play fair, not play dirty you lousy Krautl!" __She enters her tank with a lively smile to him before she closes her commander's hatch as the engine starts to roar. _

_Rommel just shrugs as he gives way to Kay's tank. Her tank on the side has the phrase of "In the mood."_

_"Yeah, take care of yourself too, Ayako." __He fixes his necktie before he went back to his ship, quickly disappearing in the crowd like a ghost._

* * *

_Night settles in Zuikaku, it was a festive evening as Eirian and his Father are outside of Eirian's dormitory. _

_"That was very fun evening, but I need to go now." __Yuzuru calmly rubs Eirian's head as he bids him a farewell._

_"I know, __Otōsan__… Please take care of yourself and give regards to Mother when you're back in Germany." __Eirian bows his head after he sighs in disbelief as he is still being treated as a kid. _

_"I will," __Yuzuru smiles at his son before he enters the back of his car, the engine starts and moves out before disappearing into the corner._

_"Really reminds me of Rommel…" __Eirian rubs his head as he went back to his room._

* * *

_Meanwhile in Takehiro's Konbini, Haru is still working as sweeps the floor while his sister is handling the counter as she is their clerk of their business. _

_"I saw your match earlier, Haru-kun. Your team is quite impressive." __She compliments. _

_"Yeah, Eirian is quite the superb Leader. He actually performs exactly like Nishizumi-san." __Haru says as he wipes the sweat off with his towel that warps around his neck._

_His Sister then notices a smile on Haru's face, signaling that he actually enjoys the match like he should. _

_"So, this means you like Senshadou then?" __She chortles. _

_"Of course not, I'll always hate Senshadou, __Onee-san__." __He disapproves her as he gives his Sister the look of "No I wasn't"._

_"Of course, you do, don't deny it, Haru-kun." __She starts to tease him as she couldn't stop smirking. _

_"No, I'm not!" __Haru insists as he is blushing a bit while embarrass, this causes him to approach his sister and slam both his hand on the counter out of embarrassment. _

_"Doesn't matter, that only thing that is important is that you're having fun, Haru-kun." __His Sister then caresses Haru's Chocolatey-hair as she feels happy for him. _

_"Memories can last forever if you're having fun, so cherish them while you can, Haru." __She then says to him as Haru looks at her Sister. _

_"But __Onee-sa-"_

_"It's alright, Takehiro Aki will be always be beside you, Haru-kun." __She then gives him a warm hug. _

_Haru hugs back to her as he is happy that he could see her Sister's smile that is warm and soft again, until he corrects her with one thing before he hugs her again, more tightly. _

_"But I'm not enjoying it, okay?" __He quickly hugs her again; this causes Aki to giggle in return._

_"Just don't break our promise, okay?" __She mumbles as she recalls the time where Haru promised something to her when they were young. _

_"Did you say something, sis?" _

_"Nope. You should hurry now since we're about to close the shop now." _

_"Hai!_

* * *

_Meanwhile Elizabeth and Alina were walking on the pavement towards their dormitory under the moonlight, the streets were empty with no cars nor the crowd, only the streetlights and the sound of the breeze that caresses their body and hair was at the scene. It was quiet and peaceful, very peaceful in fact as the only source of noise was Elizabeth obnoxious voice. _

_"That was exciting, Alina! I didn't know that we could even pull like that of a clutch like ever in a match!" __Elizabeth still remembers the match. _

_"You been repeating that to me ever since we left School, Elizabeth." __Alina feels annoyed as she tries to stop her friend from firing even more words._

_"Isn't it awesome? We took out two Shermans at a close distant with our Panzer III, that is a clutch gameplay right there." __She says, only further annoying Alina as she lets a sigh of annoyance._

_"Today is quite the eventful day, don't you think, Alina?" __Elizabeth then finally calms down as she stares at the moon above her as she stops from walking. _

_"What?" _

_"Well, we did persuade him to talk to her Mother, right? And also, we met his Father, therefore, we learn so much about our Eirian's Family today so it quite the eventful day." __She explains. _

_"I feel like you're gonna say something mor-"_

_"And obviously, the match and that out of this world clutch!"_

_"-I stand corrected…" _

_Alina just looks at her friend she stares at the moon also as she utters something under her breath. _

_"Family huh…"_

* * *

_The door then suddenly opens as a young girl in a tan colored uniform then walks the crowded hallway, she goes to a closed room as she tries to knock it. _

_"Войти" __She receives the voice; this causes her to open the wooden door and confronts the person in the room. _

_The room was an office room, the walls were filtered with picture frames and bookshelves. On the center of the room was a desk and an office chair, on top of the desk is a red telephone and a brown desk tag, the desk tag displays the name and its title. _

_It says: Michio Alexander von Pavlov. Премьер/Premier. _

_"Excuse me, __Premier. __But I have something to talk about in regards of the first match of Oarai vs Saunders earlier." __She adjusts her large round glasses as she is still holding a folder with both of her hands. _

_"Speak, Товарищ" _

_"During the last moment of the match, we saw a clutch moment of the Vice-Overall Commander of Oarai against two Shermans." __She explains as she puts down the folder on his desk as she puts both of her hand behind her back._

_"Well, everyone who knows how to use their tank can easily do a Clutch, Sandra." __Michio rebukes as he didn't even touch the folder on his table. _

_"Yes, but what we found is that the person behind it is the 'Ruthless Ace' from J.I.G.A, Premier." __This statement widens Michio's eyes as he finally takes interests on the topic, causing him to grab the folder and opens it._

_Upon opening it, he sees a picture of Eirian in Oarai uniform and a report in regards of his biography and information about his character. _

_"So, this is the one who took down Alina's team during the Motov-Torp tournament, interesting… Any idea at why he's in Oarai?" _

_"We are currently investigating on it, Premier." _

_"Good. Though it seems like he was sent there for a reason, maybe the Leopold, perhaps? Maybe Rommel? I don't think that idiot could pull something off like that…" __Michio starts to wonder as it was very unusual. _

_"Doesn't matter, continue your investigation on this subject, Sandra." __He orders her as he gives her the folder back._

_"Yes, Premier!" _

_"You are now, dismissed. Go." _

_Sandra salutes at her superior before she walks away from the room, leaving the Michio alone on his office room. _

_"The 'Ruthless Ace' is in Alina's school, what exactly are you planning at, Rommel?" __He then looks at his red telephone before he starts to dial a number as he contacted someone._

* * *

_Eirian's telephone starts to ring from the corner of his room, he is in his bed as he notices the call, he quickly stands up and grabs the telephone._

_"Hello?" _

_"Sup, Eirian." __The voice of Rommel from the other side eases Eirian's anxiety._

_"It's you Rommel. I thought it was somebody else…"_

_"Did you give your number to someone and expect them to call you back?"_

_"What the? No, you're the only person that knows the line of this telephone." _

_"How sad." _

_"Shut your mouth, Rommel. So, is there a problem?"_

_"Not really, I'm here to say that congratulations from your first match earlier."_

_"It was an easy task; Saunders aren't really that much of a problem since Kay is not acting as herself anymore." _

_"You do know that Kay isn't the Green Pool anymore, right?" _

_"I know that, Rommel. What I was referring at is that she didn't use all her tanks against us in this match." _

_"Well, that's Kay for you, she's known for her sense of justice and sportsmanship." __Rommel explains. _

_"Still, she knows how much of a threat I am and yet she acts oblivious to that…" _

_"Well, because she actually did succeed." __Rommel smirks as this causes the attention of Eirian. _

_"Succeed?" _

_"Listen here, my Eirian. What you did only shows that you're the same as ever, and now the others will discover that you're the missing 'Ruthless Ace' now. So, bravo to you and your stubbornness." __Rommel says. _

_"I know you're gonna scold me for my recklessness, Rommel. But I have a plan in mind, so rest assured, Brother." __As he looks at his compartment underneath the desk where the telephone is placed. _

_"Plan?" _

_"I won't spoil the fun, but what I'm doing is not for the sake of my career but for them, so don't worry. I won't affiliate myself with the Nishizumis." __He assures him with his stern voice. _

_"What exactly are you doing at… Eirian." __Rommel mumbles as he starting to feel worried from his brother._

_"Alright, if what you said is right, then continue on with your mission, I will only expect good things from you, Eirian." _

_"Jawohl!" _

_"See you later, Eirian." _

_The line ended as Eirian puts down the telephone and went back to his bed, he starts at the compartment again before he closes his eyes as he ended the day with a rest._

* * *

_Meanwhile Natsuki finally returns to her Minka House, a traditional house for the Japanese. There she enters the front entrance of her house as she takes out her shoes and picks up her indoor slippers. _

_After Natsuki is greeted by their household maids she then enters the room of her Mother. There she met her Mother who is eagerly waiting for her daughter to return after a long and exhausting day. _

_Her mother is wearing a light-colored Kimono while she is sitting seiza-style as she patiently waits for her daughter._

_"Welcome back, Natsuki-chan." _

_"It's good to meet you again, Mother." __Natsuki bows her head after she enters the room. _

_"Please, have a seat. We shall discuss something important tonight." __She gestures her to sit in front of her._

_Without any hesitation Natsuki sits at the tatami mat, in a seiza-style as her Mother was feeling a rather, different than usual. _

_"What do you want to discuss, Mother?" __Natsuki asks as she feels uneasy from her Mother's quiet expression. _

_"Kosuke Natsuki. I found that you're secretly avoiding doing Kyudo in the monsters, and instead you decided to join Oarai's Senshadou course."_

_"As your Mother and as the only person able enough to do Kyudo, I want you to stop doing Senshadou this instant, Natsuki-chan."_

_"No, Mother." _

_"Don't be a nuisance, we have a legacy to protect!"_

_"And do it without passion, you're just forcing me to do something that I don't like, Mother!" __She then stands up as she is both upset and mad. _

_Natsuki then receives a slap from her Mother, who scolds her afterwards as she is very angry at her daughter. _

_"We the Kosukes are known for its Kyudo arts. We been doing this since the times of the Takeda clan. We preserve and polish our skills on the field, not abolish and destroy our legacy." __She reminds Natsuki as she scolds her._

_"You should learn your place, Natsuki-chan."_

_"Of course, Mother. I apologies…" __Natsuki is upset as she couldn't look at her Mother as she went back to her seat. _

_"Good, by tomorrow you will stop doing Senshadou, and also we received a word that you will have a training session with daughter of Tsuruki Household." _

_"Of course, Mother." _

_"You are dismissed for today, I hope you can reflect on your actions in your room, Natsuki-chan. I won't allow my own daughter to ruin our name of the Kosukes." __This causes Natsuki to walk back to her room, she is guilty and ashamed for herself as she plants her head on her pillow. _

_She tries to be strong but it soon falls out as she starts to cry, she cries and cries until she takes out her phone and saw the picture of her team. There she finally gives in and decides to contact someone. _

_The only message contained on the massage is three words, and that is. _

_"I am sorry…"_

* * *

_This is a short chapter, but I hope everyone enjoys it. I hope you all have a great time and don't forget to review it if you guys feel like it. See you soon everyone! _

_Panzer vor means Panzer vor!_


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

* * *

_Rushing down the hallways of Oarai's faculty building is Elizabeth. She's in a hurry as she dashes through the rather empty corridors of the old building. _

_But upon passing around the intersection, she stumbles upon danger. _

"Eek! It's the Public Morals?!" _Elizabeth shouts in surprise, quickly fleeing away._

"Hey, stop! You're violating the school regulations!" _A girl with a short helmet-like black hair with a matching color armband on her left arm then starts to chase her. _

_Like a game of Cat and Mouse, Elizabeth tries her upmost best not to get caught by a member of the Public Morals, they continue to do this until the Public Moral's pursuer then starts to call reinforcement to catch the fleeing mouse. _

_The pursuer then saw one of its newest members at the distance of the hallway, near the stairways leading to the second floor of the building. It is a young boy with narrow eyes and a bald head. _

"Great! Now catch her, Uemura-san!"

"No way I'm gonna pass this?!" _Elizabeth just shuts her eyes as she tries to stop her tracks as she is about to crash towards the other member of the Public Morals. _

_But luckily Uemura manages to catch her, but he immediately lets her go afterwards. _

"What?!" _both the girls reply as they startle. _

"Please don't trip yourself on your way to the second floor, Elizabeth-san."_ Uemura says in a modulate and pleasant voice as he bypasses her, confronting the approaching pursuer instead. _

"H-Hai! Thank you so much, Shigeo-kun!" _Elizabeth thanks him before she ascends to the second floor of the building. _

_Uemura leaves a smile to Elizabeth as she disappears from his sight, he then now needs to confront the angered superior and subordinate of his as she takes a breather upon closing the gap on him. _

"Why didn't you capture her, Uemura-san?" _She asks, while panting. _

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Sono-san. But it seems unnecessary to do that."

"She violated the law."

"Laws are meant to be broken."

"That doesn't explain why you casually let her slide, Uemura-san." _Sono or commonly known as Sodoko gives a sigh of disappointment to his subordinate. _

"The reason is simply, 'she who urges something, finds something.' " _Uemura explains with his pleasant voice, easily calming down Sodoko as she understands what he is getting at. _

"Fine. But I won't let this accident slide ever again just so you know, Uemura-san."

"Of course, Senpai."

* * *

_Meanwhile inside the Student Council's office, specifically in the President's office, are the members of Turtle Team as they do their duties, except Anzu, and with addition of Eirian Haiiro as he checks some paper-works with Kojiro on his side. _

"So, our budget for this month is the same as last time, we're pinching pennies, again…" _Kojiro says to Eirian while he types something at his black laptop as both of them were at the corner of the room, sitting around as the papers were lying around the table in front of them. _

"Our first victory didn't do anything that much, other than boosting morale and popularity," _he further adds as they could still see the huge banner hanging at one of the buildings of the school. The banner says, "_Congratulations on your first match, Oarai Senshadou!"

"Since our training causes us to spend around 50 shells per session. With our limited stock and budget for this month, I suggest we will need to purchase around 400 shells in order to maintain our stock for next month." _Eirian recommends. _

"Is there any sudden increase of donations to our funds for this school, Momo-san." _Eirian then asks as he looks at Momo at the center of the room. _

"Don't call me that! And yes, we received a slight increase of donations after our first victory."

"Good, then we should save that if we ever gonna need to buy a model kit in the future." _Eirian says as Kojiro agrees. _

"Indeed, since we're handicapped here, I suggest that we won't do anything risky that may bring our school bankruptcy, isn't that right, Miss President?" _Kojiro then looks at Anzu who is sitting behind her desk while behind it is a box full of her favorite sweet potatoes._

"Hai! We should maintain our modest nature, _Tsujihara-kun_." _She says in a half-muffled as she speaks while chewing her snack._

"I still don't know the reason why you purchased a Gold paint to your 38…" _Eirian asks, hoping to answer his long-time question as it completely baffles him._

"Because it was shiny," _Anzu silverly answers, while shrugging it off in the process. _

"You know you could just save the money, Senpai…" _Eirian heaves a sigh of exasperation as he walks towards the desk of Anzu. _

"Said the guy who insists on paying the paid bill…" _Anzu mumbles, while glancing sideways._

"Hey, I'm doing that out of courtesy," _he exclaims, while crossing his arms. _

"Then if you are insisting me to do that then why won't you just use your savings then…" _Anzu then says, while giving him a pout expression and trying to avoid eye contact to him. _

"What are you, a child? And besides, my savings aren't that much of an issue…"

"I am not. I'm your superior and Senpai. You have to listen to me at all times, no questions, no rantings, and no buts."

"She's definitely a lost cause now…" _Eirian mumbles as they hear a loud knock on the door. _

_The door quickly opens and Elizabeth rushes to Eirian, attempting to hug him as she calls out his attention. _

"Eirian! We have a problem!" _She declares as she jumps towards at him. _

_Eirian just moves to the side as Elizabeth face-plant her face to the carpet of the office, head first, body second. Eirian isn't having it as he dislikes physical affections after all. _

_With a loud thud they hear, it is quite a painful drop Elizabeth makes before she sits up straight with her face in beefy-red condition. She then looks at Eirian and starts to speak aloud. _

"Why didn't you catch me, you idiot!"

"I'm not having it, Elizabeth." _Eirian just looks down at Elizabeth, quickly giving her the chills from looking at his stoic expression and stern voice._

"Such a meaniee…" _Elizabeth only mumbles as she purses her lip. _

"What brings you here, and such an urgent manner, Elizabeth-chan?" _Yuzu asks, while attempting to help her stand up._

"We got a code red here, Eirian." _Elizabeth says. _

"What is it?" _Momo then asks as all of them were curious and felt a little worry from the sudden matter._

"Natsuki-san hasn't come to our training yet," _she explains. _

"How was that code red, Kousaka-san?" _Kojiro then asks as this confuses him. _

"Because, she hasn't skipped training sessions before, and besides, she was with us earlier in the class." _Elizabeth points out, feeling mystify as she recalls her memory from earlier. _

"No, I'm very certain that there's something wrong with Natsuk-san, so much so that she hasn't come to our training session." _Elizabeth then looks back at Eirian before she points her finger at him. _

"Commander, as the leader of Foxy team. I demand we should investigate this matter!" _she demands. _

"Go do it yourself, Elizabeth."

"But Eiria-"

"She's probably feeling sick so she tries to bail out for today's training." _He casually replies._

"-but she hasn't told us that, she just quickly disappeared after class, Eirian…"

"Hey, Kouhai. I think you need to settle this matter." _Anzu then plays around her chair as she swings it side by side. _

"You're the Fox team's leader after all, shouldn't this be your problem as well?" _Anzu points out as she continues to persuade him._

"Bu-"

"I told you earlier, no questions, no rantings, and no buts." _She reminds him, while she sways her index finger at him, indicating the 'no buts' at him. _

"-Not one day a moment of silence for me and my paper-works… Fine, I'll settle this problem."

"That's my Kouhai!"

"Awesome, the Commander is helping us now! Quick the others are waiting." _Elizabeth says, grabbing his arm in the process and quickly rushes out of the room._

"Well, that was fast." _Kojiro says before he went back to doing his own duties. _

"That reminds me, miss Prez. You still haven't given him your gift yet, when will you give it to him?" _Out of the blue, Yuzu then asks to Anzu as they just stare at the closed door. _

"Hmm… Well, whenever I feel like it," _she only shows a smile to them as she taps at a cabinet underneath her desk before she takes a bite from her favorite snack again._

* * *

_Elizabeth takes Eirian outside the building and goes to the training field, where both Haru and Alina were waiting for them._

"Finally, you have come, Idiot…" _Alina frowns, crossing both of her arms as she gives her usual expression towards Eirian._

"I'm not really looking forward on this one," _Eirian proclaims as he scrubs the dust out of his uniform._

"Our topic on the board, search and asks Natsuki-san!" _Elizabeth announces as she quickly regains her composure._

"We don't even know where Natsuki is, we don't even know if she's here in the vicinity in the first place, Elizabeth." _Eirian says._

"You're right, Eirian. But there's still that chance, so I'm willing to search around the school." _Elizabeth replies, clenching her first in front of them, feeling the dedication. _

"So where should we start, Elizabeth?" _Haru then asks to her. _

"Alright, we should do it in pairs. I'll take Alina here and we'll go to Ceremony, Flower, Incense, Calligraphy, and Hermitry course. While you two check the rest." _Elizabeth says. _

_Haru gives a nod to Elizabeth, feeling impress. While Eirian remains at his stoic expression, which more or less just a blank expression. _

"We got it." _Eirian causally says. _

_Elizabeth nods, before saying, _"Let's get this job done then!"

_And with that, both the pairs went to their separate ways as they make their way towards their destinations. _

_Haru then starts asking each club members in the area, first they ask the members of the Naginata course, whose activities are just practicing swords and the eventual duels. Their answers are no._

_Next Haru and Eirian goes to the Aikido club house, it was chaos at best as the members, who are separated from the Girls' Aikido, were delinquents and frightening students._

_Eirian just sits on top of a tree as he watches the tiny Haru asks the question to Aikido's leader, he is a very tall, buff, and an intimidating lad._

_Though the leader is intimidating, he answers the question rather calmly with his masculine small voice. His answer is no. _

_Then the both of them goes to a secluded place within the premise of the school, an old and traditional building in the middle of a forest, there they meet the members of the Ninja Course._

_As they expect, they were wearing "Ninja-Yoroi", or "Ninja costumes" as that's how Eirian describes them. Haru asks the questions while Eirian stays at the back, leaning against the tree as he is texting Miho from his phone._

"_Sorry Miho. We can't come to the practice today. There seems to be problem here."_

"_Oh, I see… Well, it's fine, Eirian. I hope that you guys can resolve the problem!" _

"_Hopefully. Good luck on your practice for today, Miho." _

"_Hai! Arigatou and good luck there as well, Eirian! :)"_

_Eirian's last look on the messenger is Miho's profile picture, a teddy bear that is badly injured, as indicated with its swollen eye, bandages, and a broken limb on its left arm._

"I really wanted to continue my paper-works now…" _Eirian sighs, putting his phone back to his pocket as Haru is approaching him with a long expression on his face. _

"Nope, they haven't seen Natsuki-san around here." _Haru says to him as he is about to give up. _

"Then this just leaves the Archery Course then?"

"Hai, let's just hope that they saw Natsuki-san around here."

_Both Haru and Eirian proceed to go towards their last hope of knowing where Natsuki is, the place where Natsuki originated, the Oarai's Kyudo Club-building. _

_The place they go is not far the from the forest where they have their first match in Senshadou, its dojo is directly between the school ground and the forest's entrance._

_A wooden hall of style, tradition, and antiquity. With the wooden floor, ceiling, and the uses of the sliding doors, the building is like going back to the past where everything is simple. _

_The members of the club were around the area as they saw their unscheduled and unwanted guests._

"Pardon the intrusion, but may I ask a question?" _Haru asks as he bows his head towards the only person that approaches them. _

"I admire your sincerity and insouciance, but you are aware that is it forbidden to interrupt a training session, correct?"

"I don't but this won't take any time, Nagatsune-chan."

_The lady in a white kimono with her black long hair tied in a pony tail heaves a sigh of disbelief, she then gestures the both of them to go outside the building._

_The three of them walk outside the place as Nagatsune closes the entrance door behind her, she keeps her Yumi around as she takes the questions of Haru. _

"What is this about, Haru-kun?"

"Yes, I just want to answer if you saw Natsuki-san around?"

"Natsuki-dono? Well yes, she came here earlier to pick her _Yumi _and _Yazutsu_. She went to her usual location though." _Nagatsune replies. _

"Usual location?" _Eirian raises his eyebrow. _

_Nagatsune then points her finger out into the air, pointing at the smoke rising somewhere at the middle of the forest. _

"She's always practices at the old _Kyudojo_ in the forest, though the path isn't there anymore, I think the sight of the smoke can guide you two."

"Any reason why she insists on practicing at the most secluded place in Zuikaku's top deck?" _Eirian asks._

"I thought you were her friends?" _Nagatsune asks in return with a raise suspicion at them, but specifically Eirian. _

"If I recall correctly, you're her Commander in Sensha-dou, correct?"

"What if I am?"

"Then it's pointless to ask to that question since you saw what her behavior is like, right?"

"Haru, tell Elizabeth and Alina about this, let's meet them up at the entrance of the forest." _Eirian then orders around Haru before he confronts Nagatsune again. _

"I don't know what happened to Natsuki-dono, but I do know that you don't care about her, do you?" _Nagatsune frowns as she clenches her Yumi tightly. _

"She failed, Nagatsune-san."

"Stop saying that, you can't compare yourself to her so easily!"

_Eirian just turns around without changing his stoic expression, turning his back against her as he goes back and approaches Haru. _

"I already texted them, they're now going to the entrance as we speak." _Haru declares. _

"Got it, let's meet up with them then." _Eirian gives a nod to Haru before he looks back at Nagatsune who keeps staring him, he then shows a nod to her before he starts to walk again, leaving Nagatsune outside the dojo. _

"I don't trust you… Commander of Team Kitsune…" _Nagatsune mumbles before she goes inside the dojo, continuing her training session with the rest of her colleagues._

* * *

_Both pairs then meet up at the front of the forest, where there is an established dirt pathway that leads to the inside of the forest._

"So, our guide is the smoke then?" _Alina asks. _

"Yes, I don't feel like Nagatsune-chan is lying, so I'm taking my chances here." _Haru assures them with a confident nod. _

"I think the place is where we met Natsuki-san, don't you think so, Alina?" _Elizabeth then looks at Alina as she recalls their first encounter to Natsuki. _

"I actually don't know where that was, but I guess that smoke might lead us there." _Alina answers while looking up at the small, narrow, yet rather dark smoke in the forest._

"Then let's go," _Elizabeth declares as she leads the group, making their way through the rigorous forest._

_The forest is known for its peculiar rigorousness, this area is suitable for campaign and any outdoor activities as the area is secluded compared to the other places in Zuikaku's main deck, though the place is private, the students of Oarai can use them as the forest is a part of Oarai's property. _

_After a trek of ups and downs, through the greenish bushes and large trees, they finally arrive at the abandoned Kyudojo. _

"We have arrive-"

_An arrow hits the trunk of a tree right beside Elizabeth, this causes her to kneel down while on the verge of tears as she is shock. _

"-Eek?!" _She quickly yaps as she kneels down to the ground. _

_The one who fired that arrow is none other than Natsuki, her white kimono with snug-fitting white sleeve, her long navy skirt hakama, her chest protector, the muneate, and her shirotabi socks, accompanying it with a geta or wooden flip-flops. _

"What brings you four here?" _Natsuki then asks in a cold voice as she lowers down her Yumi. _

"Obviously we came here because we want to take you back!" _Elizabeth explains, standing up as she cleans and shrugs the dirt and dust around her uniform._

"I'm not going back."

"Of course, you hav- what?"

"Like I said, I'll stop playing Sensha-dou." _Natsuki announces, her unexpected tone of coldness, harshness, and directness quickly shatter her teammates, or former teammates. _

"You're joking right?" _Elizabeth's voice then starts to sound brittle. _

_Natsuki's expression says it all, she simply looks at them without any change of her expression, it is blank, it is stoic, is it a cold gaze on them. _

"That's her decision, let's go back to trainin-"

"HOW CAN YOU BE INCONSIDERATE OF YOURSELF?!" _Alina bursts her bubbles as she faces Eirian, face to face, growling as her emotion is getting the best of her. _

"She's our member, teammate, and a friend! Yet you still throw her away, where's your heart… Oh wait, you don't have that." _She adds as she keeps looking at him._

"Come on, Alina… Please stop that," _Elizabeth and Haru then interferes Alina. _

"No, I won't, that idiot isn't doing anything for her sake!"

"No! The Commander is right, it's my decision to stop doing Sensha-dou." _Natsuki's rebukes, showing her old personality to them as she is also on the verge of tears, but she is holding it as best as she could. _

"But why, Natsuki? Why won't you come back with us?" _Alina asks as she feels worry to Natsuki. _

"I'm sorry everyone… It's my decision to do this, though I have a fun time when you all." _She replies, facing them one last time with a smile on her face. _

"We can be friends like we used to be, but I can't do Sensha-dou anymore…" _She explains as she assures them. _

"I see… then we'll meet you tomorrow and let's have lunch together, okay?" _Elizabeth asks as she smiles to her as well. Natsuki just nods in return as her smile is still. _

"You heard her, everyone. Let go back to training." _Eirian's stern voice then orders his teammate to go back as he turns his back against Natsuki. _

_Both Alina and Elizabeth bid their farewell to Natsuki, feeling sad and upset, but Natsuki assures them with a smile as she sees them go. Haru also joins the girls as Eirian is the only one left with Natsuki as he still remains at his location._

"Thank you for covering my back, Eirian-kun." _Natsuki bows her head as she thanks Eirian for his actions earlier. _

"I met your subordinate earlier; she goes by the name of Nagatsune."

"Hai, what about her?" _She tilts her head. _

"There something that she said that I couldn't stand, Natsuki." _Eirian says. _

"And what it is?"

"That we aren't at the same boat on this one…" _His matter-of-fact voice then suddenly assures Natsuki in a strange way. _

_Natsuki just stares at Eirian as he starts to walk away from her, joining the rest of his team as he slowly disappears into the forest._

"Thank you, everyone…"

* * *

**4 days after that day**

_It is morning already, the sound of the cars chatter, the crowd being lively as ever, and the students making their way towards the school under the bright sun, this also includes Miho and Eirian as this thing is their normal routine. _

"Hey, Eirian-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there a problem between you and Natsuki-san?" _Miho wonders as she puts her finger under her chin. _

"I-I mean if you don't want to answer it, it's fine!" _she quickly takes it back as she stammers. _

"It's fine, Miho. But since you're a curious being, I'll show this to you instead." _He then takes out his phone and opens his messenger app before he shows Miho a text message._

"_I am sorry…"_

"Apparently, the others don't know this yet, you're the only one I have shown this message, yet." _Eirian explains as he puts back the phone. _

"Do you what does that means?" _Miho then asks._

"I'm not a social person like you think I am, Miho." _Eirian states a fact. _

"But this message is proof that she trusted you, Eirian-kun."

"Then what do you suggest me to do then?"

"Well, for starters, you should talk to her if you got the chance."

"You really want me to settle this one, don't you?" _Eirian only raises his eyebrow at her as he stops from walking. _

"Well, I'm assuming this, but I don't see you as a type of person that can socialize someone so easily." _Miho says before she quickly bows her head so she can apologies immediately to him. _

"Words can hurt someone, Miho," _he chuckles. _

"_Gomen!" She still bows her head as she thinks it upsets him. _

"It's fine, let's just get going now," _Eirian just bypasses her after he ruffles her auburn hair for a bit, causing her face to form some red spots before she straightens her posture and joins him afterwards._

_After the both of them finally arrive at the room, they for their homeroom teacher to arrive, and after a couple of long minutes of waiting, their homeroom teacher finally arrives, but as soon she arrives, she notices that someone is absent from her class. _

"Morning everyone! I hope you brought your notebooks for today because I'll be checking them, and also, does anyone know where Natsuki-chan is?" _The teacher then asks to her students, in response, the students then start to chatter, asking where, how, and why a healthy person like Natsuki to be absent. _

"Have you seen her this morning, Elizabeth?" _Alina asks to Elizabeth, which she is only beside her desk. _

"No, I haven't, Alina-chan." _Elizabeth then starts to feel worry. _

"Do you have a clue on where she is, Eirian?" _Haru whispers from behind him. _

"Nope, I haven't seen her this morning though." _Eirian answers. _

"I see… I hope she's fine then," _Haru then goes back to his seat as he too feels concern to Natsuki. _

_Pretty much everyone in the room feels like this as it is strange for Natsuki to be absent, she is known for her sharp wits, precise shots, and spot on healthy habits. Though this atmosphere doesn't affect Eirian for obvious reason, but her sudden absent also upsets Miho, Saori, and even Hana. _

_This feeling also affects the morale of Eirian's teammate during training, as shown as their today's session. Not only their efficiency drops dramatically, but also their spirits as the thought of Natsuki not being there for them, even if she's not in Sensha-dou anymore, the feeling of her not showing to them causes them to feel sad and suspicious. _

"Efficiency is around 27% less than last week." _Eirian mumbles to himself as he leans back on his gunner's seat. _

"I hope Natsuki is okay…" _Elizabeth wishes. _

"Yeah, I hope that she's in her parent's household." _Haru adds as he loads a new round into the chamber. _

"Can't we meet her?" _Haru then asks to them. _

"Sadly, we can't. I think it is because of her strict Mother." _Alina explains._

"Alright, enough with the useless chatter, let's head back now since you all can't perform today." _Eirian orders in a stern voice. _

"Where's your consideration, Idiot… Read the interior once in a while." _Alina replies in a tight voice._

"I am, and that's why I want you all go home early. You all aren't suitable for today's practice." _Eirian explains._

"How can you be so dead on this one, Eirian? Aren't you upset?" _Elizabeth the looks up at Eirian, wanting to know what his feelings are for Natsuki. _

"She isn't dead nor kidnapped, so quit with the yapping already."

"But-"

"Rest assure the Natsuki will be fine, everyone."

"-okay…"

"Alright, let's head back now."

_And with that, after finishing their training, Eirian then dismisses his teammates for today's practice. Eirian then goes back to his room and picks up his bag before going downstairs and go home, but upon walking towards the entrance and exit of Oarai's gate, he bypasses the fenced gate that leads to his secret place. _

_There he notices that the gate is open, this leads him to his suspicion that someone is on his secret location, this tells his gut to go there, and this is what happens as he goes to his secret place. _

_As the sun goes down, the moon starts to rise up, between these two a dusk has form, and when he arrives, he finally sees her. _

_Feeling the breeze on her face, while she allows her hair to breeze through the pattern of the wind, she then feels the apparent existence of her friend in the area. Her smooth skin contemplates the calm and peaceful atmosphere, all they can hear are the sound of the wind and the rustle of the leaves. _

"So, you have found my secret spot then?_" Eirian immediately catches the attention of Natsuki. _

"What brings you here?" _She asks, looking at him, feeling sad as shown on her face with her soft and brittle voice. _

"We're gonna have a talk, Natsuki."

* * *

\- To be continue...


End file.
